Industry data indicates that sales of light vehicles declined by around 3.5% in February, a figure seen as surprisingly strong when set against last year’s high market. The narrow margin will be seen as further evidence that the decline to auto industry prospects predicted at the end of last year is turning out to be less severe than widely expected.
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Once again, the importers outperformed the domestics, with DaimlerChrysler and Ford reporting double-digit percentage drops versus the same month last year.
General Motors Corp. continued its strong showing in February, reporting a 0.4 percent sales increase compared with February 2001. GM’s performance was boosted by strong demand for its light trucks, with passenger cars faring less well.
Ford reported that its sales dropped 11.6 percent last month; the decline would have been even worse had Jaguar and Land Rover not posted large gains.
Perhaps most striking of all, the Ford marque lost sales leadership to GM’s Chevrolet Division for the first time in more than a decade. The New York Times reported that George Pipas, Ford’s manager of industry sales analysis, said of GM that “I would say congratulations if they’ve managed to pull that off.”
Ford said sales at its Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands all fell last month, in part because of a 29 percent decline in fleet sales. Ford has relied heavily on such sales in the past.
In reporting its sales performance – off 11% on last year – Chrysler blamed lower fleet sales and concentrated on the upbeat performance of its trucks. Dodge Ram sales were up 19% on last year and Jeep Liberty was up 10% on last month.
Ford, GM and Chrysler have all announced that they will be continuing cheap finance incentives for consumers through March.
Import sales as a whole were reported up around 12% during the month (versus a 6% decline for the domestics). Nissan and Mitsubishi reported double-digit sales increases last month as did the South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia. Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW also reported higher sales. But Honda, Volkswagen and Porsche all reported sales declines.
Many importers said that sales in February reached new record levels.
Hyundai and its subsidiary company Kia, reported record-breaking February sales.
“Hyundai sales were up 15% over last February,” said Robert Cosmai, Vice-President of Sales for Hyundai Motor America. “This marks our 13th consecutive month of record-setting sales and we expect these surging sales to continue. Our product lineup is fresh and sales of our exciting all-new 2003 Tiburon sporty coupe, which has just started to arrive in dealer showrooms, will continue to grow as the supply increases,” he added.
Audi said that strong sales of its all-new A4 (up 34 percent on last year), helped it to a new February record.
Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc. (MMSA) reported February sales of 31,802 units, marking the best February in company history and a 31 percent gain over February sales in 2001.
“We’re on a roll and our brand is really striking a chord with youthful-minded consumers,” said MMSA President and COO Pierre Gagnon. “Since the launch of Lancer, all of our products have seen a lift and we expect that to continue with our next product introduction.” An all-new entry-level urban sport-utility vehicle is planned for summer rollout.
