Car Sales Tank in November

[NSXaholic]

Mostly about the Big Three, but still a telling sign as to where the economy is heading. Those 0%-interest deals weren't going to prop us up forever.

Regards.

----------------------------------------
Big Three Auto Makers Post Double-Digit Declines in November U.S. Sales

General Motors Corp. (GM) Tuesday reported an 18% drop in total U.S. sales for November and announced a slight increase in its fourth-quarter North American production plan.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. (F) posted a 17% drop and trimmed its fourth-quarter production plan, but maintained its earnings guidance. DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCX) Chrysler Group reported a 12% decline in November sales.

GM, the nation's No. 1 auto maker, sold 309,263 new cars and trucks in November in the U.S., down from 363,721 a year earlier.

Car sales fell 6% to 137,401 and truck sales fell 26% to 171,862. Light-truck sales fell 26% to 168,739.

Percentage-change comparisons are based on the daily selling rate in each period. GM and Chrysler each had 26 selling days in the latest month, compared with 25 in November 2001. For Ford, there were 25 selling days in both periods, Ford said.

"Comparisons to a very strong year-ago November are difficult," Bill Lovejoy, GM group vice president of North America vehicle sales, service and marketing, said Tuesday in a prepared statement, adding that "our sales remain generally healthy.

"Importantly, we continue to improve our vehicle mix in an extremely competitive market," Mr. Lovejoy said. "Heading into the last month of the year, GM's truck sales continue on pace to set the all-time industry record. In addition, we continue to generate strong sales with our new vehicle introductions for Cadillac, Hummer and Saturn."

GM said truck sales for 2002 through November are up 3.7% at 2,487,972.

Ford, Dearborn, Mich., said U.S. customers purchased or leased 261,705 cars and trucks from Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover dealers in November, down from 313,906 a year earlier.

Car sales fell 21% to 88,201, and truck sales fell 14% to 173,504.

By brand, Ford sales fell 17% to 217,972; Mercury sales fell 28% to 17,763; Lincoln sales fell 19% to 10,174, and Jaguar sales fell 16% to 4,223. Volvo sales rose 4.1% to 7,770 and Land Rover sales rose 44% to 3,803.

Volvo's sales rise reflects the introduction of the all-new XC90 sport-utility vehicle, and the Land Rover jump reflects the addition of the Freelander and the all-new Range Rover, Ford said.

The auto maker said Land Rover and Jaguar already have set new calendar year sales records. November was the 13th month in a row of record sales for Land Rover. Jaguar's November sales decline interrupts 15 months in a row of record sales.

"It appears the November auto sales rate rebounded from October," Jim O'Connor, Ford group vice President, North America marketing, sales and service, said in a prepared statement.

"This is encouraging, as is the upturn in November's consumer confidence surveys. Overall, we remain optimistic about the prospects for auto sales in the months ahead as consumer fundamentals remain positive," Mr. O'Connor added.

Mr. O'Connor also said the auto maker is "on track to finish the 2002 calendar year with a higher market share than where we started," with the new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator having made "significant contributions to our improving market share trend among individual retail customers."

Ford had a November market share of greater than 21% and is on track to post its highest market share totals of the year during the fourth quarter, George Pipas, the company's head of sales, said on a conference call Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Chrysler, Auburn Hills, Mich., said vehicle sales in the U.S. declined to 158,839 from 173,361 a year earlier. Truck sales slid 13% to 125,973, while car sales fell 9% to 32,866, the auto maker said.

"In a month when the industry was reporting a sales decline, demand for the Jeep Liberty and Jeep Grand Cherokee was strong," Gary Dilts, senior vice president of sales, said in a prepared statement.

Jeep Grand Cherokee sales rose to 21,308, a 26% jump from October levels and a 3% increase from November 2001. Jeep Liberty reported sales of 15,343 units for the month, up 8% from October and 1% from a year earlier.

Sales of Dodge Ram trucks totaled 30,585 units, up 9%. Dodge Neon sales totaled 9,343 units, up 54% compared to last year and the sixth-straight month of increases.

Earlier Tuesday, DaimlerChrysler Chairman Juergen Schrempp said that Chrysler's earnings in 2002 would reflect the fact the company has made a "turnaround," but didn't offer further details.

Mr. Schrempp also said that DaimlerChrysler remains committed to the North American market and is on track to invest between $30 billion and $40 billion in its North American operations over the next five years.

Mr. Schrempp offered no prediction of how Chrysler or the overall company will do in 2003 but he did mention the company is putting great hopes into its new Crossfire. He said the vehicle combines the strengths of both the U.S. and German portions of the company.

Overall, U.S. auto sales remained sharply below 2001's levels in November, but there was some improvement compared with October.

The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate for November was 16.04 million vehicles, according to industry-tracking firm Autodata Corp., of Woodcliff Lake, N.J. That compares with 17.83 million vehicles in November 2001.

In October, GM had reported a 32% drop in sales. Ford and Chrysler each posted a 31% decline for that month.


North American Production Plans


Ford revised its fourth-quarter North American production plan to meet year-end inventory targets for specific models, such as the Focus, Ranger and Mustang. The company plans to produce 940,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, down by 25,000 vehicles from the previous plan.

"Our revitalization plan remains on track," Allan Gilmour, vice chairman and chief financial officer, said in the company's statement. He said that despite the production cuts, the company is reaffirming the profit guidance provided Oct. 16. Ford expects to earn "a slight profit" in the fourth quarter and to earn about 40 cents a share for the full year, excluding unusual items, Mr. Gilmour said.

In the first quarter of 2003, the auto maker plans to produce one million vehicles in North America, up 60,000 units from the fourth quarter of 2002, but lower than the 1.052 million vehicles produced in the first quarter of 2002, when it was rebuilding inventories from a decade-low level, Ford said.

GM, meanwhile, said it is revising its fourth-quarter production forecast for North America to 1.415 million units, up 5,000 units from last month's guidance. In the fourth quarter of 2001, GM produced 1.294 million units in North America.

The No. 1 auto maker's initial 2003 first-quarter production forecast for North America is 1.4 million units. In the first quarter of 2002, GM North America produced 1.353 million vehicles. This 3.5% increase in production is "mostly attributed to the unusually high level of temporary plant idlings in the first quarter of 2002" GM said.

Among other auto makers reporting November U.S. sales Tuesday:

-- Toyota Motor Corp.'s (TM) U.S. unit said sales fell 5.2% to 136,259 vehicles from 138,183 a year earlier, reflecting 26 selling days in the latest month and 25 days a year earlier. Total car sales edged 0.6% higher, to 77,077, while truck sales fell 12% to 59,182.

Toyota division sales fell 3.3% to 119,150 units, while sales from the Lexus division fell 16% to 17,109.

-- Honda Motor Co.'s (HMC) U.S. unit said sales rose 4.6% to a November record of 98,075 vehicles from 90,153 last year, reflecting 26 selling days in the 2002 period and 25 a year earlier. Car sales fell 8.5% to 60,359, while truck sales rose 36% to 37,716.

-- Nissan Motor Co.'s (NSANY) Nissan North America Inc. unit said November vehicle sales fell 1.6% to 57,512 from 56,223 a year earlier, reflecting 26 selling days in the latest month and 25 a year earlier. Combined Nissan and Infiniti car sales in November rose 13% to 40,011, while total truck sales fell 24% to 17,501.

Infiniti sales rose 39% for the month to 8,830 units, while Nissan-brand sales fell 6.6% to 48,682.

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by NSXaholic:
-- Honda Motor Co.'s (HMC) U.S. unit said sales rose 4.6% to a November record of 98,075 vehicles from 90,153 last year, reflecting 26 selling days in the 2002 period and 25 a year earlier. Car sales fell 8.5% to 60,359, while truck sales rose 36% to 37,716.

Click here for more details on Honda sales.

[NSXaholic]

Interesting. It seems that NSX sales have really picked up YTD as compared to a year ago.

Wonder what's driving this in such a bad economy?? I dare say its the 2002 models.

Regards.