• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Toyota Passes DaimlerChrysler in U.S. Sales

Posted on: Thursday, 4 January 2007, 06:00 CST

By Chris Woodyard

Bolstered by a consumer move toward smaller vehicles, Japan's Toyota for the first time outsold DaimlerChrysler in the USA last year.

That makes Toyota the third-largest auto seller in the USA behind Detroit automakers General Motors and Ford Motor.

Toyota's sales were up 12.5% in 2006 compared with 2005, according to sales tracker Autodata. Among the six biggest automakers, only Honda also showed an increase, up 3.2%. GM, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Nissan all were down for the year.

"When you get the reputation of being the safe choice and right choice and you don't disappoint folks, people gravitate to you. That's what's happening with Toyota and Honda," says Jack Nerad of Kelley Blue Book.

Overall, the industry sold 16.6 million vehicles for the year, about 2% fewer than in 2005. Automakers are predicting 2007 sales to be relatively flat as well.

Domestic automakers were hit hardest by sliding sales of pickups, minivans and SUVs last year. The trucks suffered as gas prices skyrocketed last summer. Also a problem: The new home market sagged, which created less demand for work trucks. Ford's F-Series pickup, the nation's best-selling vehicle, saw its second-consecutive year of declining sales.

Meanwhile, as gas prices climbed, consumers were attracted to Toyota's smaller vehicles and the gas-stingy reputation of its gas-electric hybrid lineup.

Toyota sold 15.4% of all vehicles in the USA last year, compared with 14.4% for DaimlerChrysler. GM sold 24.6% and Ford, 17.5%.

While reporting Toyota's 11th-consecutive year of record sales, Jim Lentz, executive vice president of the U.S. division, downplayed the move past DaimlerChrysler in the rankings.

Lentz says Toyota focuses on building around a strong vehicle lineup, led by Camry, the nation's best-selling car, and "not around competitors."

Now that Toyota and Honda offer cars and trucks in virtually every category, Nerad predicts that their rapid sales expansion could slow.

But one area where Toyota thinks it could take some sales away from the domestic makers this year is in pickups. It sold 124,500 of its big Tundra pickups last year. But Toyota thinks the redesigned Tundra -- the extended cab version of which is being unveiled next week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit -- could see 200,000 sales this year.

Ford market analyst George Pipas says the pickup market will remain under pressure, mostly because of economic factors, even as competition in the segment stiffens.

"The full-size truck market is going to look like a sumo wrestling match," Pipas predicts. "Not that it's going to make much difference. The consumer in this category pretty much buys their brand." (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

More News in this Category