Honda, Asian Brands Add to U.S. Share on Car Demand (Update1)
March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., buoyed by a 38 percent jump in sales of its Civic small car, helped Japanese and South Korean automakers widen their share of the U.S. auto market for a seventh consecutive month.
Honda's U.S. February sales rose 8.7 percent, helping Asian carmakers capture a 37 percent market share, up 0.9 point from a year ago, according to Bloomberg data. Sales rose 2.4 percent for Toyota Motor Corp. and 2.2 percent for Nissan Motor Co., the companies said yesterday.
Higher gasoline prices have prompted consumers to favor cars over sport-utility vehicles, and Asian makers have capitalized with redesigned models such as Honda's Civic and Toyota's Avalon. Japanese automakers Wednesday swept a ranking of ``top'' cars and trucks in Consumer Reports magazine's annual auto guide for the first time.
``We regard Honda as the automaker best-positioned among major companies to take advantage of market conditions if fuel prices continue to increase,'' said Jeffrey Scharf, president of Santa Cruz, California-based Scharf Investments, which manages $550 million, including Honda and Toyota shares.
Lower sales for General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co. also contributed to Asia-based automakers' gains in February. The U.S.-based carmakers will cut production as higher fuel prices crimps demand for trucks and SUVs. The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline was $2.25 on March 1, an increase of 33 cents from a year ago, the auto group AAA said on its Web site.
Honda, Toyota
Sales for Honda, fifth in the U.S., rose to 106,644 from 98,130 a year earlier. In addition to the Civic surge, sales of a refreshed version of Accord, Honda's highest volume U.S. model, increased 4.4 percent.
Tokyo-based Honda's market share for the month was 8.5 percent, up 0.7 point from a year earlier. The company is Japan's third-largest automaker.
Toyota, fourth in the U.S., increased sales to 166,940 from 163,059, on gains for the Toyota City, Japan-based company's Avalon sedan, Lexus IS sports car, Tacoma pickup and new RAV4 small sport-utility vehicle.
Toyota's market share rose to 13.2 percent, from 13 percent in February 2005. The company is Japan's largest automaker and is No. 2 in the world, behind GM.
Five of the top 10 models selected by the Consumer Reports, described by automakers and analysts as the most influential vehicle guide of its type in the U.S., were Hondas or Acuras. Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries Inc.'s Subaru each had two, and Nissan had one. No models from U.S. or European automakers were included in the magazine's top 10.
Nissan, Hyundai
Nissan, sixth in U.S. sales, sold 84,241 new cars and trucks last month, for its first monthly increase since September. The gain was led by Nissan-brand cars including the small Sentra and mid-size Altima sedan. Sales of Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand fell 5.5 percent.
The company's sales have cooled because of a reduced pace of new-model releases and lower demand for its trucks, Brad Bradshaw, Nissan's U.S. brand manager, said in an interview.
``That will change in the back half of 2006,'' Bradshaw said, citing additions of the redesigned Sentra and the new Versa small cars, and the refreshed Quest minivan. ``For 2006, we're not going to see double-digit growth, but we think we can hold our own.''
Tokyo-based Nissan's market share was 6.7 percent in February, rising 0.1 point, according to Bloomberg data.
Hyundai Motor Corp., which is South Korea's largest automaker and ranks seventh in U.S. sales, sold 34,014 new vehicles last month, an increase of 0.2 percent. The increase was led by a 41 percent surge for the Sonata sedan and by the new Azera large sedan, Hyundai said. The Seoul-based company's market share was unchanged at 2.7 percent.
Share Performance
Honda's shares rose 1.2 percent to 6,920 yen in Tokyo at 11:00 a.m. trading break. Toyota's shares rose 1.5 percent to 6,240 yen and Nissan's shares rose 0.7 percent to 1,342 yen.
Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai affiliate, sold 20,719 new vehicles last month, up 1.3 percent, helped by the company's new Sedona minivan and higher sales of Rio and Spectra small cars. Kia's market share was unchanged at 1.6 percent.
Mazda Motor Corp., a Ford affiliate, had 13.3 percent increase to 23,580 on a jump in sales of its Mazda5 wagon and demand for Mazda6 and Mazda3 cars. Mazda's market share rose 0.2 point to 1.9 percent.
Among smaller brands, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru- brand sales fell 6.1 percent to 13,635 on a drop in Baja truck and Forester SUVs. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. sold 7,976 vehicles, down 36 percent. Suzuki Motor Corp., a GM affiliate, sold 8,542 cars and SUVs, up 39 percent. Isuzu Motors Ltd., a Japanese truckmaker affiliated with GM, sold 796 SUVs and pickups, down 32 percent.
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Civic sees 38% jump in sales
- Thread starter MikeMike
- Start date
Sheepathon
Diamond Member
Make a good car and people will buy.
amdhunter
Lifer
in my parking space at work --> http://amdhunter.net/caratwork2.JPG
and the interior --> http://amdhunter.net/caratwork1.JPG
and mileage when i got home from the dealer --> http://amdhunter.net/lolmileage.JPG:heart:
I just got a lease on a Honda Accord SE. I really wanted the Civic, but they wouldn't work with me on the price at all. I guess so many people are buying the Civic that its not big deal if I walk out the door. So I am leasing the Accord for $40 less a month because they have a "program" on the accords. Meanwhile the Accord SE is about $4000 more (I think)
AznAnarchy99
Lifer
lol @ song on interior dash
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