If sales trends don’t change dramatically, Toyota will sell more cars in the United States this year than each of the two brands that have dominated for a century: Chevrolet and Ford, Associated Press (AP) reported.
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It would mark the first time a foreign car maker has held that mantle and illustrates the growing impact of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, all of which continue to expand their domestic line-ups and manufacturing capacity, AP added.
On the passenger car side, Toyota, excluding its Lexus luxury brand, sold 520,991 cars in the United States to the end of July, about 20,000 more than Ford and nearly 47,000 more than Chevrolet, General Motors’ top-selling brand, AP said.
Ford has been the top car seller in the United States for nearly a decade, although Toyota’s Camry was the best-selling model last year, AP noted.
According to Associated Press, GM, Ford and Chrysler, all of which have focused on their truck and SUV lineups in recent years, say they’re in no way willing to concede the car market to Toyota or anyone else.
Chrysler has said 14 of 21 new products over the next few years will be car-based while GM will introduce a new Chevy Malibu this fall, a high-volume car that will compete directly with the Camry and Honda’s popular Accord, and also will launch the Chevy Cobalt to replace the Cavalier next fall, the same time Pontiac will begin building a new mid-size car, one notch above the Grand Am, AP said.
AP said Ford has ambitious plans for its cars too, although Ben Poore, the Ford Division’s car group marketing manager, acknowledged that Ford spent much of last year beefing up its SUVs and this year doing the same to its trucks and minivans.
“I’m not surprised to see the Toyota numbers,” Poore told Associated Press. “They have a much fresher product lineup than we do in cars. But guess what? We’re coming back, and we’re absolutely coming on with a vengeance.”
Among Ford’s new offerings in the next couple of years: the large Five-Hundred sedan, the GT supercar, a new Mustang and the Futura, which will be positioned between the smaller Focus and the Five-Hundred, AP added.
For all its gains, Toyota told AP it’s pleased, but that market share gains in particular are not its priority – its reputation for dependability and products with broad appeal are what fuel sales.
According to Associated Press, both CSM Worldwide and JD Power and Associates predict Chrysler – which includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep nameplates – will maintain its No. 3 position in the domestic market over the next five years.
Jeff Schuster, JD Power’s director of North American forecasting, told AP he expects Chrysler to maintain a sales gap of 400,000 to 500,000 vehicles over Toyota and its Lexus and Scion brands in the United States.
“Toyota would really have to turn things up, while Chrysler collapses at the same time,” for Toyota to catch the Chrysler Group, Schuster reportedly said.
