SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- Domestic automakers on Wednesday reported declines in December sales, capping a rough year that saw Japanese rivals carve deeper into the U.S. market.
But despite the harsh hangover that followed the summer's record selling binge, the industry's year-end tally managed to come in slightly above targets.
"I would describe it as a pretty solid year for the industry and one that is above our expectations that we had at the beginning part of the year," said GM sales analyst Paul Ballew.
Last month, the total annualized sales rate came in at 15.74 million vehicles, an improvement from 14.75 million in November, which marked the lowest monthly total since 1998, according to Autodata. Wall Street forecast that number to grow to 16.8 million for December, still off the year-ago pace of 18.4 million.
"December 2004 was a monster month at 1.54 million units sold, so this December seems slow, although the sales result will be perfectly adequate in comparison with the last five December's," said Paul Taylor, chief economist at the National Automobile Dealers Association, who put the industry's sales number at 16.9 million.
GM, Ford decline in December
General Motors Corp. reported a 4% drop in 2005 U.S. sales, to nearly 4.52 million vehicles, with the car side dipping 7% and the truck side shedding 2%. Cadillac, Saab and Hummer, however, helped GM's luxury business grow in the face of the overall decline.
For December, GM sales met Wall Street estimates, falling 10% to 392,041 vehicles compared to the same month a year ago, with cars plunging 19.4% and trucks off 4.9%.
On a bright note for the Detroit giant, Chevrolet -- boosted by full-size pickup demand and the debuts of the new Impala, Equinox, HHR and Cobalt -- took home the mantle as best-selling brand in the U.S. for the first time since 1986.
Earlier, Ford Motor Co. said it sold fewer trucks last year than it did in 2004, even as car sales rose for the first time since 1999.
"Increased sales of cars in the second half of the year means that gasoline prices, as well as exciting new car designs, helped make this the year of the car," Taylor said.
Overall, Ford posted a 4.9% decline in 2005 U.S. sales to nearly 3.17 million vehicles, with a 2% gain in car sales more than offset by an 8% dip in trucks amid record gas prices.
The ailing Jaguar brand saw its sales clipped by a third, to 30,424 vehicles, in 2005, while Land Rover turned in the best performance by brand, up 30% to 46,175. Mercury was the only other Ford nameplate to show an annual sales increase.
Unit sales fell 9% to 267,881 in December from last year, with cars off 5.8% and trucks down 10.2%. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast a sales decline, on average, of 11.2%, with targets ranging from down 4% to off 19%.
Separately, rival German-American carmaker DaimlerChrysler posted a 4% rise in 2005 U.S. auto sales to nearly 2.43 million vehicles sold.
In the last month of the year, DaimlerChrysler sales fell 2% from a year ago to 220,641 cars and trucks. The Chrysler side posted a 5% drop in December to 189,449 vehicles, while the Mercedes-Benz division turned in a 17% surge to 31,192.
Toyota ends strong year with more gains
Toyota Motor , capping another stellar year, reported a 10.1% rise in 2005 U.S. auto sales to 2,260,296 vehicles.
The Camry retained its crown of best-selling car in the U.S. while Lexus remained the top-selling luxury brand.
Toyota brand and Lexus sales combined rose 8.2% to 203,279 cars and trucks in December. The popular Prius hybrid continued its torrid pace, with sales surging 43.6% to 9,027 vehicles from the same month last year and doubling for the full year to 107,897.
"Finally shaking off its Autumn chill, the industry enjoyed a bit of holiday cheer as buyers returned to showrooms," said Jim Press, president of Toyota's U.S. operations. "Solid calendar-year results vouch for the industry's fundamental health and bode well for the coming year."
Honda Motor handed in a 5.2% rise in 2005 U.S. sales to 1,462,472 vehicles but sales fell 3.3% to 132,800 in December, weighed down by a 16% slide on the car side. Truck sales, however, surged 14.1% on the back of Honda's popular Pilot SUV as well as strong demand for the Ridgeline pickup.
The luxury Acura side turned in a 5.7% rise for the full year to 209,610 cars and trucks.
Elsewhere, Nissan Motors posted a 9.6% rise in 2005 U.S. sales to 1.08 million vehicles, breaching the million-unit mark for the first time ever.
For December, however, sales fell 1.1% to 91,253 cars and trucks from last year, with the Nissan brand's 2.2% decrease more than offsetting a 6.5% rise in its lower-volume luxury Infiniti division.
Germans mixed
BMW reported a 4% rise in 2005 U.S. sales to 307,020 vehicles, but sales fell 1.3% to 28,900 units for December.
The car side turned in a 9.3% increase to 20,510 for the month as sales of BMW's SUV lineup up fell 11% from a year ago to 5,954 vehicles. Sales of the Mini were cut by a third in December to 2,436, but sales still finished up 13% for 2005.
Porsche posted a 2% rise in 2005 North America sales to 33,859 vehicles. Nearly half that number came from sales of its Cayenne SUV despite softening demand in the segment.
In December, Porsche's U.S. sales rose 6% to 2,861 cars. The Cayenne was the biggest seller at 1,425 vehicles, down from 1,773 a year ago.
Audi of America turned in a 15.6% rise in December U.S. sales to 8,842 vehicles, with the new A6 sedan turning in a 17.4% improvement to 1,767 cars sold.
For 2005, Audi sold 83,066 vehicles, up 6.6% from the prior year.
Incentives rise slightly
Incentive spending rose 1% to $2,410 per vehicle in December from a month ago, according to Edmunds.com. But that number is still down 4% from the same month last year.
Automakers spent a total of $3.5 billion in the final month of the year, up from $2.8 billion in November. Ford actually decreased its spending to $3,016 per vehicle sold, while both Chrysler and GM increase theirs to $4,006 and $3,207, respectively.
By brand, Jaguar spent the most at $7,039 per vehicle sold, followed by Lincoln at $4,969 and GMC at $4,641.
"Interestingly, automakers spent $1.2 billion less on incentives in 2005 than they did in 2004," said Edmunds.com analyst Jane Liu. "The downward trend may be sustainable if the investment continues to be targeted for effective use -- and, of course, if the 2006 and 2007 model-year vehicles appeal to consumers."
Automakers will showcase their new products and concepts at the Detroit auto show starting this Sunday.
This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com
But despite the harsh hangover that followed the summer's record selling binge, the industry's year-end tally managed to come in slightly above targets.
"I would describe it as a pretty solid year for the industry and one that is above our expectations that we had at the beginning part of the year," said GM sales analyst Paul Ballew.
Last month, the total annualized sales rate came in at 15.74 million vehicles, an improvement from 14.75 million in November, which marked the lowest monthly total since 1998, according to Autodata. Wall Street forecast that number to grow to 16.8 million for December, still off the year-ago pace of 18.4 million.
"December 2004 was a monster month at 1.54 million units sold, so this December seems slow, although the sales result will be perfectly adequate in comparison with the last five December's," said Paul Taylor, chief economist at the National Automobile Dealers Association, who put the industry's sales number at 16.9 million.
GM, Ford decline in December
General Motors Corp. reported a 4% drop in 2005 U.S. sales, to nearly 4.52 million vehicles, with the car side dipping 7% and the truck side shedding 2%. Cadillac, Saab and Hummer, however, helped GM's luxury business grow in the face of the overall decline.
For December, GM sales met Wall Street estimates, falling 10% to 392,041 vehicles compared to the same month a year ago, with cars plunging 19.4% and trucks off 4.9%.
On a bright note for the Detroit giant, Chevrolet -- boosted by full-size pickup demand and the debuts of the new Impala, Equinox, HHR and Cobalt -- took home the mantle as best-selling brand in the U.S. for the first time since 1986.
Earlier, Ford Motor Co. said it sold fewer trucks last year than it did in 2004, even as car sales rose for the first time since 1999.
"Increased sales of cars in the second half of the year means that gasoline prices, as well as exciting new car designs, helped make this the year of the car," Taylor said.
Overall, Ford posted a 4.9% decline in 2005 U.S. sales to nearly 3.17 million vehicles, with a 2% gain in car sales more than offset by an 8% dip in trucks amid record gas prices.
The ailing Jaguar brand saw its sales clipped by a third, to 30,424 vehicles, in 2005, while Land Rover turned in the best performance by brand, up 30% to 46,175. Mercury was the only other Ford nameplate to show an annual sales increase.
Unit sales fell 9% to 267,881 in December from last year, with cars off 5.8% and trucks down 10.2%. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast a sales decline, on average, of 11.2%, with targets ranging from down 4% to off 19%.
Separately, rival German-American carmaker DaimlerChrysler posted a 4% rise in 2005 U.S. auto sales to nearly 2.43 million vehicles sold.
In the last month of the year, DaimlerChrysler sales fell 2% from a year ago to 220,641 cars and trucks. The Chrysler side posted a 5% drop in December to 189,449 vehicles, while the Mercedes-Benz division turned in a 17% surge to 31,192.
Toyota ends strong year with more gains
Toyota Motor , capping another stellar year, reported a 10.1% rise in 2005 U.S. auto sales to 2,260,296 vehicles.
The Camry retained its crown of best-selling car in the U.S. while Lexus remained the top-selling luxury brand.
Toyota brand and Lexus sales combined rose 8.2% to 203,279 cars and trucks in December. The popular Prius hybrid continued its torrid pace, with sales surging 43.6% to 9,027 vehicles from the same month last year and doubling for the full year to 107,897.
"Finally shaking off its Autumn chill, the industry enjoyed a bit of holiday cheer as buyers returned to showrooms," said Jim Press, president of Toyota's U.S. operations. "Solid calendar-year results vouch for the industry's fundamental health and bode well for the coming year."
Honda Motor handed in a 5.2% rise in 2005 U.S. sales to 1,462,472 vehicles but sales fell 3.3% to 132,800 in December, weighed down by a 16% slide on the car side. Truck sales, however, surged 14.1% on the back of Honda's popular Pilot SUV as well as strong demand for the Ridgeline pickup.
The luxury Acura side turned in a 5.7% rise for the full year to 209,610 cars and trucks.
Elsewhere, Nissan Motors posted a 9.6% rise in 2005 U.S. sales to 1.08 million vehicles, breaching the million-unit mark for the first time ever.
For December, however, sales fell 1.1% to 91,253 cars and trucks from last year, with the Nissan brand's 2.2% decrease more than offsetting a 6.5% rise in its lower-volume luxury Infiniti division.
Germans mixed
BMW reported a 4% rise in 2005 U.S. sales to 307,020 vehicles, but sales fell 1.3% to 28,900 units for December.
The car side turned in a 9.3% increase to 20,510 for the month as sales of BMW's SUV lineup up fell 11% from a year ago to 5,954 vehicles. Sales of the Mini were cut by a third in December to 2,436, but sales still finished up 13% for 2005.
Porsche posted a 2% rise in 2005 North America sales to 33,859 vehicles. Nearly half that number came from sales of its Cayenne SUV despite softening demand in the segment.
In December, Porsche's U.S. sales rose 6% to 2,861 cars. The Cayenne was the biggest seller at 1,425 vehicles, down from 1,773 a year ago.
Audi of America turned in a 15.6% rise in December U.S. sales to 8,842 vehicles, with the new A6 sedan turning in a 17.4% improvement to 1,767 cars sold.
For 2005, Audi sold 83,066 vehicles, up 6.6% from the prior year.
Incentives rise slightly
Incentive spending rose 1% to $2,410 per vehicle in December from a month ago, according to Edmunds.com. But that number is still down 4% from the same month last year.
Automakers spent a total of $3.5 billion in the final month of the year, up from $2.8 billion in November. Ford actually decreased its spending to $3,016 per vehicle sold, while both Chrysler and GM increase theirs to $4,006 and $3,207, respectively.
By brand, Jaguar spent the most at $7,039 per vehicle sold, followed by Lincoln at $4,969 and GMC at $4,641.
"Interestingly, automakers spent $1.2 billion less on incentives in 2005 than they did in 2004," said Edmunds.com analyst Jane Liu. "The downward trend may be sustainable if the investment continues to be targeted for effective use -- and, of course, if the 2006 and 2007 model-year vehicles appeal to consumers."
Automakers will showcase their new products and concepts at the Detroit auto show starting this Sunday.
This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com