Sales Wrap-Up for 2006: Good and Bad for "Big 2.5"; Toyota Sales In

[YSSMAN]

Although we still travel through rough seas, and the SS Toyota closes in from behind, GM and Ford have had reasonably "good" years, at least, better than expected.

First, the DCX figures:

The Chrysler Group (Chrysler, Dodge Jeep) today reported that sales in December 2006 rose 1 percent to 190,415 units, compared to December 2005 sales of 189,449 units. For the entire year, Chrysler Group sales totaled 2,142,505 units, a decrease of 7 percent over 2005.

"The 10 new products the company introduced in 2006 generated customer and media praise and laid the foundation for strong sales in 2007," said Steven Landry, Vice President, Sales and Field Operations - Chrysler Group. "We've got an aggressive retail sales plan for 2007 that is expected to drive showroom traffic and provide our dealers the best opportunity to sell vehicles."

Chrysler Group passenger car sales rose 46 percent for the month, but fell 3 percent overall in 2006. Truck sales dropped 5 percent for the month, and 8 percent for the year.

Meanwhile, sister company Mercedes-Benz reported the highest annual volume in its history — 248,080 vehicles in 2006, a 10.5 percent increase over the 224,421 units sold in 2005. Sales in December were down slightly, for a total of 28,115 vehicles, marking the second-highest sales month in MBUSA history — next to December 2005.

There we see the polar opposites of a company that is quickly dividing from within. As the American arm of DCX continues to crumble under poor sales conditions, poor product panning, back-logged reserve lots in Detroit, and $7000 per vehicle incentives to revolting dealers, the outlook looks grim. Hopefully 2007 may work in their favor, otherwise we may never see the Challenger than we all want so much.

...Over at Mercedes, things look good. The S-class is a success, the GL gets recognition (that it probably didn't deserve), and Mercedes is on the verge of the BluTec revolution that hopefully will take positively here in America.

As Abraham Lincoln said, "A divided house cannot stand," and that may be the case at DCX. Lets hope for a better 2007 guys...

Now for Ford:

Ford's dealers delivered 233,621 new vehicles to U.S. customers in December, down 13 percent compared with a year ago. Lower F-Series sales (down 21 percent compared with last December's near-record month) and lower sales for the discontinued Taurus and Freestar minivan more than accounted for the decline, the company said.

Full year sales totaled 2.9 million, down 8 percent compared with full year 2005. Car sales were 5 percent higher than a year ago. It was the second year in a row of higher car sales and the first back-to-back increase since 1993-1994. Ford's new mid-size sedans were the major factors behind the increase as combined sales for the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ totaled 211,469. Full year truck sales were down 14 percent.

Sales at subsidiary Jaguar were down 36.5 percent for the month and 32.0 percent for the year overall. Volvo's December sales fell 6.1 percent — in line with a 6.3 percent drop for the year. Land Rover sales 13 percent in December, despite a 3.5 percent increase for the year. Mercury and Lincoln saw sales rise 2.2 and 1.5 percent, respectively, during December. Overall sales for the brands fell 7.7 percent and 2.2 percent for 2006, however.

Ford's news seems to be both a mix of positive and negative. As truck sales continue to slide, certainly sales overall are going to decline. The good news is that car sales are up, and with Ford's stellar new Fusion/etc models, the rather-good Edge/etc line, and the forthcoming update for the Fusion and Fivehundred should make good on the bottom line.

It is good too that their other subsidiaries are doing moderately well, particularly that of Land Rover, Lincoln, and Mercury. I would anticipate to have all three improve in the near future, particularly that of Lincoln, however I must say that I do fear for Jaguar and Volvo in some circumstances. Thankfully new products are in the pipe and should help to bolster sales in some respects, however things may remain wishy-washy.

My only question for Ford is how long must we wait for the MKII Focus, next-gen Mondeo, and the S-Max? If you want to sell cars in America, there needs to be cars in which we want to buy, and with the internet abuzz with news of the three, why not bring them to the place that needs them most?

Finally, General Motors:

GM dealers in the United States delivered 341,327 vehicles in December, a reduction of 9.6 percent on a sales-day adjusted basis compared with a strong year-ago December. GM's total annual U.S. sales of 4.1 million vehicles in 2006 were down 9 percent compared with last year's 4.5 million.

"December was a very solid sales month for GM, exceeding our expectations, especially in full-size trucks and SUVs," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North American Sales, Service and Marketing. "In 2006, despite challenging conditions, we stuck to the game plan and achieved our stated goals in support of Rick Wagoner's turnaround plan for North America.

For December, Buick sales were down 24.5 percent, Cadillac was up 2.8 percent, Chevrolet was off 12.9 percent, GMC fell 14.4 percent, Hummer dropped 10.9 percent, Pontiac shed 6.2 percent, Saab rose 32.7 percent, and Saturn gained 41.8 percent. Overall car sales were up 2.2 percent for the month, but down 7.2 percent for the year. Truck sales were down 15.9 percent in December, and 9.7 percent for the year.

Again, moderately "good" news for GM sales despite a decrease overall in volume. I must say bravo to Saturn and Saab for the HUGE increases in sales this year, as they are well-deserved due to strong product lines, and the future only looks more bright. Saturn may quickly become the shining star in GM's arsenal, doing a double-duty to fight directly with Honda and Toyota with products that are not only as good, but are also available for a lower price... One can only hope that the Astra lives up to the Aura this year...

My suggestion for GM in 2007; Get the diesel products here now, beat the Europeans to it (kinda). With Volkswagen unable to sell diesel products until 2008, the market share for their small diesel cars has been left wide-open, thus you MUST capture it. Added to that, don't screw up the Zeta launch in America. With so many people putting their beans in your pocket because of it, it is your make-or-break moment, thus it is imperative that you succeed.

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Overall, a better year than what had been expected, one that sets up a somewhat bright future in the years to come. New products abound, I expect good things from GM and Ford, however Chrysler may be on it's last leg with the DiamlerBenz boys, so we will have to see what happens...

 

[niky]

No word on how Ford's Mazda subsidiary is doing? For me, the reduction in overall volume is not as important as to how much of that current volume is now in fleet and fire sales. If they are at a lower volume, but producing at profit for a bigger percentage of that volume, then I think they'll be okay.

And are Chrysler's figures adjusted to account for the "sales bank"? Their over-inventory problem is so horrendous now that even mainstream media channels are starting to pick it up. The heady days of... uh... 2005 seem to be far, far behind.

Saab? Saturn? So instead of selling next to nothing, they're now selling... a little? What are the exact numbers on that? Saab is still in an uneasy position. They and Saturn have benefitted from the merry-go-round that is GM's R&D money train, and this year, they've come up trumps... but for how long? GM has a history of injecting a little bit into a brand then lettting it falter before doing so again... (same way Ford handles its long term best-sellers... Taurus? Focus?) ...I wouldn't be so happy about both Saturn and Saab turning into badge-jobs, but then, any little bit helps, and Opel's penetration into the US market has been a long time coming.

But then, yeah, despite the lower figures, good news for GM.

 

[YSSMAN]

Toyota's figures are in:

Toyota today reported its best ever U.S. year-end sales of 2,542,524 vehicles, up 12.9 percent over 2005. The company reported best-ever overall sales month results of 228,322, an increase of 16.6 percent over the same period last year. Toyota Division passenger cars recorded best-ever year-end sales of 1,275,119, up 12.4 percent over last year. Similarly, Toyota Division recorded all-time best-ever year-end light truck sales of 944,971, an increase of 15.7 percent.

Lexus reported best-ever total year-end sales of 322,434, up 6.8 percent over last year, and all-time best-ever overall sales month of 37,235 units, up 9.9 percent over the year-ago month. Sales of Lexus passenger cars achieved best-ever year-end results of 183,037 units, an increase of 21.4 percent. Lexus passenger car sales reported best-ever overall sales month results of 20,913 units, an increase of 21.6 percent over the year-ago month.

I'm not completely surprised, but they still have a way to go here in America before they catch GM. It will be interesting to see how Toyota sales fair with the reported diminishing quality (check C/D about the Camry, others for Avalon issues) and a sloo of new competitors to take away the spotlight. next year will be very interesting indeed...

 

[harrytuttle]

There we see the polar opposites of a company that is quickly dividing from within. As the American arm of DCX continues to crumble under poor sales conditions, poor product panning, back-logged reserve lots in Detroit, and $7000 per vehicle incentives to revolting dealers, the outlook looks grim. Hopefully 2007 may work in their favor, otherwise we may never see the Challenger than we all want so much.

I don't think it's poor product planning overall, just poor platform sharing. The 300C and Magnum are great; the Charger...not so much. The Crossfire was good on paper, lousy in reality. And don't get me started on that "Neon replacement". I hope that they take the lessons learned over the last two years and make the Challenger the winner it deserves to be.

As Abraham Lincoln said, "A divided house cannot stand," and that may be the case at DCX. Lets hope for a better 2007 guys...

Sony's having that same problem, and have had that problem for decades. It hasn't hurt them too much because they're so diverse within their industry, they're bound to hit on something good somewhere. DCX is like that: so many products covering so many segments, they're doing well enough somewhere to keep afloat. The big shame is that Mercedes isn't sharing enough with Chrysler to bring them up to spec. Either that or the US office isn't doing enough listening.

My only question for Ford is how long must we wait for the MKII Focus, next-gen Mondeo, and the S-Max? If you want to sell cars in America, there needs to be cars in which we want to buy, and with the internet abuzz with news of the three, why not bring them to the place that needs them most?

I'm not sure we can agree on this more.

Again, moderately "good" news for GM sales despite a decrease overall in volume. I must say bravo to Saturn and Saab for the HUGE increases in sales this year, as they are well-deserved due to strong product lines, and the future only looks more bright. Saturn may quickly become the shining star in GM's arsenal, doing a double-duty to fight directly with Honda and Toyota with products that are not only as good, but are also available for a lower price... One can only hope that the Astra lives up to the Aura this year...

Despite Saturn doing very well, and despite my approval for all these new products (in the looks department, at least), I still think GM is undermining itself with Saturn. They were originally intended as a non-car car company; the car company for people who don't like cars; the rubbermaid car division.... Now they have great-looking sedans, SUVs, and a gorgeous sports car, and their appeal has skyrocketed. No surprise here, but if Saturn moves upmarket, does that place it above Chevrolet (becoming ultra-generic)? Above Pontiac (a product wasteland)? Then again, with Honda & Toyota moving upmarket, is old-school Saturn even necessary? I think they should have put all this effort into either Pontiac or Chevrolet, their supposedly core brands. This seems to be self-competition in true VAG fashion.

My suggestion for GM in 2007; Get the diesel products here now, beat the Europeans to it (kinda). With Volkswagen unable to sell diesel products until 2008, the market share for their small diesel cars has been left wide-open, thus you MUST capture it. Added to that, don't screw up the Zeta launch in America. With so many people putting their beans in your pocket because of it, it is your make-or-break moment, thus it is imperative that you succeed.

I think VW can still sweep the diesel market, first to market or not. They're like Apple and MP3 players: far from first to market, but they do it so much better (or at least, that's what the marketing says) and they make it look so easy. And VW already has a reasonable history of diesel in the US. GM's is limited to trucks...smelly, noisy trucks. I have no doubt VW will be better than GM, late or not. In fact, their only competition will be the same as it is in Europe: BMW.

 

[YSSMAN]

I agree on the VW diesel thing. They certainly have the technology, as a 2.0L 143 BHP diesel sounds like more than enough. But, diesel supplies are going to run out quick, as they are driving sales at many different dealers. To be honest, a car that still drives like a real car, gets 40+ MPG, and really isn't too expensive all together. But, they're done for 2007, and won't be back until the end of the year...