Toyota, Nissan Lead U.S. February 2005 Sales With Trucks

March 1, 2005; Alan Ohnsman writing for Bloomberg reported that Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and other Asian automakers extended U.S. market-share gains for a sixth straight month in February as their new light-truck models helped draw more buyers.

Vehicles such as the new Pathfinder sport-utility vehicle by Nissan, Japan's second-biggest automaker, helped Asia-based companies raise sales by 3.9 percent to 453,132 units, Autodata Corp. said. The 10 Japanese and South Korean makers' combined market share rose 2 percentage points to a record 36.1 percent. General Motors Corp.'s sales fell 13 percent while Ford Motor Co. sold 2.9 percent fewer units last month.

Asian automakers are offering more light trucks, which rose to almost 56 percent of U.S. sales last year, because ``it's like someone once said about robbing banks: That's where the money is,'' Jed Connelly, Nissan's U.S. senior vice president, said in an interview today. ``You've got to go where the customers are.''

Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker, along with Honda Motor Co., Nissan and Hyundai Motor Co. added a combined six new SUV and pickup truck models in the U.S. during the past six months. Nissan's light-truck sales last month rose 27 percent from a year earlier and Hyundai's increased 19 percent.

``The nightmare scenario for GM and Ford may be coming true,'' said Alex Muromcew, who helps manage $1 billion in Asian equities, including Nissan shares, for TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC in San Francisco. ``For the longest time, they could count on a buyer base that wouldn't consider a pickup that wasn't made by the Big Three. Middle America's reluctance to buy an Asian truck may be disappearing.''

Total U.S. car and light truck sales fell 1.9 percent to 1.25 million in February, New Jersey-based Autodata said. General Motors' truck sales fell 9.1 percent last month and Ford sold 8.6 percent fewer trucks.

Toyota

Toyota's sales of pickups, led by the Tundra Double Cab model, rose 15 percent, helping increase total sales 11 percent to 163,059 cars and trucks. The company, based in central Japan's Toyota City, also sold 7,708 Prius gasoline-electric cars, the most in any month.

Sales of the revamped Toyota Tacoma pickup fell 5.9 percent. Edmunds.com, an Internet-based automotive research service, said the revamped model is attracting consumer interest, which eventually may mean more sales.

``Tacoma is currently the second-most-researched vehicle on Edmunds.com,'' said Mike Chung, an analyst for the Santa Monica, California-based company, which draws 5 million users a month. ``I'm not aware that the truck has ever been in our top five, let alone number two.''

Toyota, fourth in U.S. sales behind General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG, increased its U.S. market share by 1.5 points last month to 13 percent.

Honda

Honda, which ranks fifth in the U.S., was the only major Asian automaker to post lower sales in February. The Tokyo-based company was hurt by a second consecutive month of declines for the Accord and Civic cars, its top-selling models. Honda's total sales fell 7.2 percent to 98,130 units.

The third-largest Japanese automaker sold 17 percent fewer cars, as Civic sales dropped 34 percent. Honda's market share fell to 7.8 percent from 8.3 percent a year earlier, according to Autodata.

``Honda doesn't have as broad a lineup as Toyota and Nissan, particularly in trucks, so they aren't getting the same spillover effect,'' said Eric Noble, president of Car Lab, an Orange, California-based firm that advises automakers on market trends. Honda's new Ridgeline pickup truck, which goes on sale this month, may help the company, he said.

Nissan

Nissan's Pathfinder SUV sales more than doubled, leading a 27 percent increase for trucks that included gains for every model. The Tokyo-based company, sixth in U.S. sales, raised total sales 10 percent to 82,412 cars and light trucks.

``You're seeing a real halo effect from adding new trucks, and replacing a couple of almost geriatric models,'' Car Lab's Noble said. ``Nissan now has a broad truck portfolio that's benefiting from every new model they add.''

Sales of the Titan large pickup, added in late 2003, rose 49 percent. Truck sales totaled 40,158. The automaker sold 2.2 percent fewer cars, with 42,254. Its market share increased 0.7 point to 6.6 percent.

Hyundai Motor, Kia

Hyundai Motor, which seeks to become one of the world's five largest automakers, raised sales by 19 percent last month to 33,940 units, helped by the new Tucson small SUV, added in late 2004, and higher sales of its Accent, Sonata and Elantra cars.

Market share for Seoul-based Hyundai Motor, which this month starts building Sonatas at a new factory in Montgomery, Alabama, improved 0.5 point to 2.7 percent. A revamped Santa Fe SUV will be built at Hyundai's first U.S. plant in 2006.

Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai Motor affiliate, raised sales by 10 percent to 20,454 units, as customers bought more Sedona minivans, Spectra compact cars and Amanti sedans. A redesigned Sportage SUV, which returned to Seoul-based Kia's U.S. lineup late last month, also contributed to the sales gain. Kia's market share rose 0.1 point to 1.6 percent, Autodata said.