Team-BHP - Gm strikes back overtakes Toyota

Have always maintained that toyota is becoming way too reliant on the US market and they are almost closing their eyes when it comes to the rest of the markets,case in point this craze with hybrids and the sheer neglect of the Indian market.

Just don't know why this message does not reach the ears of Toyota.

Quote:

Troubled GM briefly took back its crown as world's top carmaker after selling 2.41 million vehicles from April to June, according to company figures.

GM continued to lose customers in the US - the world's largest car market - with sales down 7% in the region over the past three months
High fuel prices have driven Americans away from its trucks and sports utility vehicles and the Detroit-based firm has been forced to cut thousands of jobs and close factories in an effort to turn around the flagging business.
Meanwhile, Toyota has enjoyed strong US sales on the back of the success of its pioneering petrol/electricity hybrid, the Prius, and new models of popular car ranges like the Camry Sedan and Corolla.
But outside its home market, the popularity of GM models is rising, particularly in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East

Source:
BBC NEWS | Business | GM retakes sales lead over Toyota

This is indeed Good news. I personally would love to see the American and the European brands rightfully rule again. They are the ones who gave us the car, they are the ones who made them being able to be mass produced, they are the ones that makes safety features. Photocopiers take the cake cos their copies are sometimes more VFM than the originals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1100D (Post 506625)

I personally would love to see the American and the European brands rightfully rule again. They are the ones who gave us the car, they are the ones who made them being able to be mass produced, they are the ones that makes safety features. Photocopiers take the cake cos their copies are sometimes more VFM than the originals.

Photocopiers are also better engineered than pen-and-paper setups. And there are other places for this sort of discussion.

GM definitely began to do its home-work,when it saw other car companies bringing out superior cars in terms of performance & comfort.
The news GM cars have a lot of goodies in them, and are as reliable (atleast, to an extent) as the Jap/Korean/Euro cars.

5-7 yrs ago, people in the US would be skeptical about getting a GM vehicle, but not any more. Seen a lot of Asians driving GM,which proves that they make cars as good as any other car company. So it wouldn't be too alarming that they've taken the #1 spot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitin (Post 506718)

5-7 yrs ago, people in the US would be skeptical about getting a GM vehicle, but not any more. Seen a lot of Asians driving GM,which proves that they make cars as good as any other car company. So it wouldn't be too alarming that they've taken the #1 spot.

Actually thats for a different reason. You won't find too many americans going for these american cars nowadays but its the asians, as you said. the reason is most of them land up there from india and other asian countries and then look for a used car that comes cheap. the japanese cars are inherently costly there due to the perception of solidity and value. as a result a similarly spec'd toyota or a honda will cost much much more than a GM or a Ford in the used car market. it suits the asians, particularly the indians, on a budget to buy these cars.

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Originally Posted by Zappo (Post 506885)

He was talking about "new" cars. In the used market most asians simply do not look beyond Toyota, Honda and Nissan (in that order).

it can be seen in india as well,toyota is way too lazy in the indian market.GM has more cars in its lineup than toyota in india.GM already has a headstart when it comes to production models.the only cars that toyota have are the corolla,innova and the Camry(that too through the cbu route).while GM has the spark,UVA,aveo,srv,optra,captiva(to be launched).

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Originally Posted by rahul_intlad (Post 506156)

Have always maintained that toyota is becoming way too reliant on the US market and they are almost closing their eyes when it comes to the rest of the markets

I totally agree with that. I have felt the same too. Seems like the world, for toyota, begins and ends in North America. But their sales are increasing in Europe too. I guess Toyota wants to first capture North America and Europe and then move on to other car markets. The advantage they have in India the reverence Indians have towards the H and T logo(ed) Japanese cars. They can afford to be the last enterant in their segment and still can end up as market leaders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad (Post 506156)

Agreed that Toyota overtook GM for a brief while before GM overtook again however we are missing a key point here. Business exist to sell a lot of units but the primary purpose is to make money. Look at Toyota's profitability. Way ahead of GM.

I disagree that that they are closing their eyes to other markets. They obviously have to be focussed on the largest automotive market in the world (US). Anybody in their position would be. I would argue that it is GM who is conceding US market to Toyota and is looking elsewhere in the world to make up their numbers. It is only a matter of time before Toyota goes in those markets and wins huge share.

Take the example of India. While GM sells more units, look at the number of models that they have and look at Toyota. That allows Toyota to be more profitable and more efficient.

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Originally Posted by devarshi84 (Post 508185)

leaderships come and leaderships go. But Toyota is one brand I wont like to see at top. They dont deserve the place. Not everything that glitters is gold.

It would be good if you can share why Toyota doesn't deserve the top spot ?