[madan80]

Honda down 24% and GM 15%

With a 32.3 percent decline in sales, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. in September turned in one of the worst performances in its 50-year history in the United States. Toyota sold 81,282 vehicles last month, down from 125,007 in September 2007.
American Honda saw its September sales decline 24.0 percent over last year, while General Motors fell 15.6 percent.
Honda's September sales totaled 86,629, a result Honda officials blame on jittery consumers.

More at http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...078/emailblast

[sujaylahiri]

Welcome to the US and A Toyota. I had predicted that long time back for Toyota.

I'm kinda surprised at Honda's performance though. Bet you can blame it on the SUV sales.

[GTO]

Man, its a bloodbath with the credit crisis & weak economy in the States. Who would have thought that Toyota would lose 32% and that the General will gain market share! Heck, a 16% dip for GM is a loss alright. But lesser than that of Toyonda.

Here is the report card of some others:

Mercedes : -16%
BMW : -30%
Porsche : -45%

A Fortune newsletter states that Toyota is all geared up to offer 0% financing for upto 5 years.

Bet you can blame it on the SUV sales.

Not really. Even the Corolla - a staple economy sedan - has witnessed a sales drop of over 20%.

[snaronikar]

IMO, the americans are supporting their car manufacturers rather than outsiders. Hence there might be huge slump in the car sales especially, of Jap auto makers. Moreover, the economy in US is in shambles and there is an overall declaine in the auto industry in US. This might also be the strong reason for this decline.

[mohit]

its about the money! People don't want to spend on big ticket items right now...everyone's playing a wait and watch game. And I guess thats the way to go.

[sridharps]

Wow, the steepest YOY fall in 17 years. Man, this is something!

Originally Posted by snaronikar

IMO, the americans are supporting their car manufacturers rather than outsiders. Hence there might be huge slump in the car sales especially, of Jap auto makers.

Well, not really. When it comes to your own personal money, such patriotism generally takes a back seat. The reason is that GM has been offering a 'Employee Discount for everyone' scheme for a couple of months now to boost their sales.

[speedzak]

A fall for Toyota is very very surprising. Man! How on earth does this happen?

GM having the smallest fall should be due to all the suicidal discounts and offers. Heard that they're even asking for EMIs to start after a year of car purchase.

It would be better if the Title of this thread reads as TOYOTA SALES PLUMMET IN US! Ain't it?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

IMO, the americans are supporting their car manufacturers rather than outsiders. Hence there might be huge slump in the car sales especially, of Jap auto makers.

Not really. GM's blow 'em all away employee pricing did the trick for them. They may have gotten in the sales, but the question is.....how profitable were those sales?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by GTO

Not really. GM's blow 'em all away employee pricing did the trick for them. They may have gotten in the sales, but the question is.....how profitable were those sales?

I agree with this.
GM will soon have a painful payback period, after this party!

[ashthedivx]

Originally Posted by speedzak

It would be better if the Title of this thread reads as TOYOTA SALES PLUMMET IN US! Ain't it?

With the the launch of Altis, Toyota is surely doing some interesting no.s in India at least.

[sujaylahiri]

Looks like Toyota is taking its declining sales seriously by offering 0% interest on 11 models including the best selling Corolla and Camry.
Toyota/Lexus/Scion Pressroom: Toyota Announces Zero-Percent Offer
As I said before, they'll soon be in GM's shoes going by the current sales figures.

Remember GM's account statement few years back?

And since Toyota is no domestic automaker, I wonder if the Japanese Government will have a bailout plan ready like the Americans.
I know it's too far fetched, but being Toyota doesn't mean that they are immune to these problems.

[kuttapan]

While almost all automakers have posted a negative growth figure from last year in US, one and only one automaker has registered a positive growth %, though in single digits. Who is it?

Another question ; Who among the mainstream automakers have been least hit in the current recession?

Members in US, please stay away from the quiz. Others, googling is tantamount to cheating.

[Steeroid]

Hopefully this will make Toyota take 'emerging markets' like India more seriously and we will get models that are more relevant to this market. At realistic prices, too.

Bring on the Fortuner, Toyota.

[9thsphinx]

Toyota holds the Title of #1 car manufacturer in the world. Anyone thinks otherwise?!?!? With the latest gen Honda's and Acuras rolling in, the sheer design takes away the cake from Toyota. Take the Indian market and the Altis placed against the Civic. Competition?????

[jagan0677]

Originally Posted by speedzak

...
Heard that they're even asking for EMIs to start after a year of car purchase.

.....

Yippee!! They did it for houses sometime ago. Now they are doing it for cars.

Curious what impact this would have on the products itself. Small car makers might be looking at some good opportunities.

The mantra of ever-increasing volumes will need to be rethought. growth? volumes? profitability? cash flow? go figure??