Ford F150 MI Vehicle Leader in June Auto Sales, GM Michigan Still Market Share Dominator
Ford F150 MI Vehicle Leader in June Auto Sales
, GM Michigan Still Market Share DominatorDEARBORN, MI Ford F150 MI trucks ranked as the top vehicle in June with 46,502 Ford F-Series trucks sold, a 29.5 percent increase over last year, but General Motors continued its volume leading position of most vehicles sold with an 11.9 percent increase over last year, or 194,716 sold for June 2010. The other big three member Chrysler made huge gains of 35.4 percent in June compared with last year's sales.
Ford F150 MI truck owners would be interested to know light truck sales accounted for 48.8 percent market share, an increase over June 2009's 46.5 percent. The Chevy Silverado came in second as best-selling vehicle, up 25 percent. Analysts believe steady fuel prices accounted for the domination of trucks and SUVs for the month of June. Cars on the other hand only improved by 9.4 percent over last year, less than half the overall rate of light trucks (20.1 percent).
All of this would seem like good news but when June's numbers are held in comparison with May's, the auto industry outlook and its ensuing recovery get much murkier. What has worried analysts, investors, and the general public is the annualized number for U.S. auto sales, which because of June's performance, has declined from 11.6 million in May to 11.08 million in June. The first half of the year average was 11.15 million. Prior to the Recession, the annualized number was often 16 to 17 million.
Some analysts say it's presumptuous to hand out a death sentence based on only one month, but any regression is concerning said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting and product analysis at J.D. Power and Associates, to the Dallas News.
"You can't draw too many conclusions from one month's sales," Mr. Schuster said. "That said, it makes me a little more concerned for the second half of the year. Momentum is important when you're coming off of what we were in."
Though Ford F150 MI truck owners may be proud their truck held the top vehicle position, General Motors continued to hold the most market share for June in the U.S with 19.8 percent.
GM increased year-over-year sales by more than 11.9 percent, Ford came in at 13.4 percent, and Chrysler experienced a 35.4 percent increase. During the month of June last year, Chrysler was just emerging from bankruptcy and GM had filed for protection from its creditors.
Also experiencing significant growth over last year's numbers was the official FIFA World Cup sponsor Hyundai Motor America with a 35 percent gain. Toyota which has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide increased sales by 6.8 percent year-over-year.
Many people posting comments in response to June auto sales for the big three cite sales to fleet customers as obscuring the underlying truth of a weaker recovery than reported by automakers. Fleet customers include car rental agencies, and according to Reuters, "On an industry-wide basis, fleet sales have accounted for about a fifth of overall sales for the past five years."
Reuters also reported, "Ford said fleet sales accounted for about 37 percent of its overall sales in June, including 14 percent of its sales that went to car rental agencies.
"GM said its share of such fleet sales was about 31 percent. Chrysler declined to provide a similar figure that would put its overall sales gain in perspective."
The drop in sales from May 2010 signals weaker consumer confidence spurred by lackluster job growth, an unemployment rate near 9.7 percent, and a fragile stock market troubled by economic troubles of Greece and Spain.
Talk is quickly circulating about entering a double-dip recession, meaning some recovery was experienced but the U.S. will enter another recession before a full recovery may be realized. However, many automakers are more prepared now for a recession than they were three years ago, as they were forced by the recession to scale back heavily, which included closing auto dealerships, laying off workers, and drastically reducing operating expenses.
Their leanness has constrained many other industry-related businesses, such as parts and suppliers, so the industry as a whole may be in a better position to confront a double-dip should it occur.
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[Source(s): The Atlantic, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, The Dallas Morning News, Motor Intelligence]