Automotive News - May 19, 2008 - (Page 34)

34 • MAY 19, 2008 Japan’s sales slide 2% in 1st quarter; output climbs Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com Japan vehicle production 1st qtr. 1st qtr. 2008 1st qtr. 2007 Japan vehicle sales, 1st qtr. (For selected companies) DOMESTIC 1st qtr. 2008 1st qtr. 2007 TOKYO — In a rare reversal of fortune, light-vehicle sales in Japan outperformed those in the United States for the first quarter of the year. But that’s not saying results were good. The usually morose Japanese market saw total vehicle sales drop 2.0 percent in the January to March period, from a year earlier. Overall U.S. sales, by contrast, tumbled 8.0 percent for the quarter. Overall Japanese volume declined to 1.7 million vehicles, putting it on track for a fourth year of falling sales. Domestic brands fell 2.1 percent; imports shed 0.7 percent. Car 1,024,428 998,372 Truck 106,400 93,952 TOYOTA 1,130,828 1,092,324 Car 303,481 335,467 Truck 6,159 9,335 HONDA 309,640 344,802 Car 274,041 271,506 Truck 37,861 39,285 SUZUKI 311,902 310,791 Car 342,273 259,837 Truck 53,594 51,777 NISSAN 395,867 311,614 Car 281,322 230,375 Truck 12,185 11,695 MAZDA 293,507 242,070 Car 169,288 187,799 Truck 43,923 26,640 DAIHATSU 213,211 214,439 Car 227,664 197,324 Truck 25,425 26,150 MITSUBISHI 253,089 223,474 Car 117,690 99,758 Truck 15,526 19,638 FUJI HEAVY IND. 133,216 119,396 ISUZU (trk.) 65,017 60,551 MITSUBISHI FUSO (trk.) 31,568 31,691 HINO (trk.) 28,087 24,701 NISSAN DIESEL (trk.) 13,200 9,691 OTHER 747 603 Total car 2,373,142 2,154,423 Total minivehicle 482,770 536,029 Total truck 323,967 295,695 TOTAL 3,179,879 2,986,147 Note: Buses are included with trucks. Source: FOURIN Inc. No subprime fallout Automakers have long struggled against Japan’s anemic economy and shrinking population. But, unlike the United States, Japan has yet to suffer serious fallout from the subprime loan mess. Of the domestic makers, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. led the decline, falling 10.9 percent to 68,009 units. Toyota Motor Corp. followed with a 4.2 percent decline to 664,546 vehicles. Honda Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. bucked the trend. Honda booked a 10.5 percent gain to 191,715 vehicles, and Mazda rose 2.1 percent to 80,714 units. Nissan eked out a 0.1 percent increase to 241,970 vehicles. Japan-built 447,775 Import 2,360 Toyota Division 450,135 Japan-built 2,588 Minivehicle 189,672 Daihatsu 192,260 Hino 13,313 Lexus 8,838 TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. 664,546 Japan-built 191,871 Minivehicle 45,329 Import 4,770 NISSAN MOTOR CO. 241,970 Japan-built 24,736 Minivehicle 178,750 SUZUKI MOTOR CO. 203,486 Japan-built 129,084 Minivehicle 61,750 Import 881 HONDA MOTOR CO. 191,715 Japan-built 62,399 Minivehicle 18,315 MAZDA MOTOR CORP. 80,714 Japan-built 26,233 Minivehicle 41,677 Import 99 MITSUBISHI MOTORS 68,009 Japan-built 29,020 Minivehicle 38,319 FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES 67,339 ISUZU MOTORS LTD. Japan-built 18,862 MITSUBISHI FUSO Japan-built 10,281 NISSAN DIESEL Japan-built 3,700 Total car 914,768 Total minivehicle 573,836 Total light-truck 71,649 Total medium/heavy truck 44,262 Total bus 5,318 TOTAL DOMESTIC 1,609,833 468,121 2,766 470,887 4,171 192,078 196,249 14,858 11,490 693,484 187,994 53,792 18 241,804 24,616 182,811 207,427 110,601 61,832 1,112 173,545 62,287 16,771 79,058 27,036 49,049 208 76,293 26,652 44,266 70,918 20,531 13,138 5,043 903,368 600,612 84,419 49,842 5,620 1,643,861 15,273 3,714 118 47 19,152 3,121 11,425 10 11 14,567 943 – 523 1,466 118 12,443 6 12,567 1 1,652 643 309 2,723 66 5,394 2,136 574 2,710 1,683 823 9 87 2,602 4,104 65,027 1,708,888 1,653,426 Japan vehicle exports, 1st qtr. 1st qtr. 2008 % change from 1st qtr. 2007 IMPORTS Volkswagen division 14,918 Audi 3,810 Bentley 72 Lamborghini 34 VOLKSWAGEN AG 18,834 Mini 3,123 BMW division 10,131 Alpina 47 Rolls-Royce 5 BMW GROUP 13,306 Chrysler 495 Dodge 447 Jeep 784 CHRYSLER LLC* 1,726 Smart 328 Mercedes-Benz 10,060 Maybach 4 DAIMLER AG* 10,392 Ford Japan-built 1 Ford import 1,144 Jaguar 524 Land Rover 404 Volvo 2,535 Aston Martin 72 FORD MOTOR CO. 4,680 Peugeot 1,939 Citroen 482 PSA 2,421 Chevrolet Japan-built 2,697 GM North America 734 Opel – Saab 68 GENERAL MOTORS 3,499 JAPANESE REIMPORT 8,110 TOTAL IMPORT 64,599 GRAND TOTAL 1,674,432 TOTAL LIGHT VEHICLES 1,624,852 *DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC and Daimler AG totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. Source: FOURIN Inc. United States Canada N. America European Union Europe (all) Middle East Oceania Asia Africa South America Central America Other TOTAL Source: FOURIN Inc. 582,467 64,759 647,226 237,407 418,220 242,660 127,571 140,180 84,555 65,925 69,731 2,377 1,798,445 4.7 –3.2 3.8 –6.8 6.8 38.0 28.3 51.1 21.0 5.9 14.0 9.5 13.9 Output rises 6.5% Still, the sluggish Japanese market didn’t dent local production. Total output rose 6.5 percent to 3.2 million in the quarter, held aloft by exports, especially to emerging economies. Leading the pack were Nissan with a production increase of 27.0 percent and Mazda with an increase of 21.2 percent. Toyota’s output ticked up 3.5 percent, but Honda’s fell 10.2 percent. c Japan’s 1st qtr. 2008 exports Selected companies; % change from 2007 To North America To Europe Total Nissan Honda Mazda Mitsubishi Source: FOURIN Inc. 57.8 –0.3 –11.7 –22.2 33.2 –48.3 21.1 73.3 55.7 –6.6 11.2 29.5 Transitions Russell Banks of R.D. Banks Chevrolet in Champion, Ohio, was elected president of the board of the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio. Also elected were Rob Fellman of Boardman Subaru in Boardman, vice president; and Kim Welsh Koch of Welsh Motors in New Springfield, treasurer. ■ 30 with Nissan 888-788-0142 F ForceEvents Curly McCord, left, of McCord Bros. Nissan in Longview, Wash., receives a 30-year award for Nissan from Steve Scott, a dealer operations manager for Nissan North America’s Northwest region. We invite items and top-quality photos for the dealers section. For guidelines, e-mail pfoley@crain.com or call 313-446-0378. Or send items to: Dealers Section Automotive News 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 ■ Calif. dealers elect officers The California Motor Car Dealers Association changed its name to the California New Car Dealers Association. The association’s new officers are pictured. In front is Denny FitzPatrick of Fitzpatrick Chevrolet-Hummer in Concord, chairman. Behind him, from left, are Gary Shipman of Toyota of Santa Cruz in Capitola, vice chairman; Tom Hoffman of Puente Hills Chevrolet in City of Industry, secretary/treasurer; and Peter Welch, the association’s president. http://www.forceevents.com http://www.forceevents.com http://www.forceevents.com

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Automotive News - May 19, 2008 Ford eyes smaller F-150 cousin Sonic: Mercedes tries to 'extort' store upgrades Chrysler seeks 25% slash in parts prices Dealership managers pushed Chrysler's latest incentive Crain names 4 new VPs Automotive News staffers win Wheel Awards GM will keep cutting sales to fleets GM studies the future of full-sized trucks American Axle plans to expand in Asia At Lexus, the sales laggards are cars VW positions Tiguan as 'GTI' of small SUVs Tata enters race for 100-mpg car Harley Earl was the daddy of auto design Focus will follow Fiesta as a global vehicle Lexus shows how it sweats details Industry slows tide of state CO2 rules Chevy tweaks Cobalt to add fuel economy Be careful; don't do anything dumb Looking ahead to different industry They thought they knew everything Cerberus doesn't belong in autos Dealers as scapegoats Smart, steady growth works best for suppliers Farley's smart to value Ford's heritage Absurd logic in the U.S., cowardice in Germany BMW, Daimler keep a wary eye on U.S. economy James Franey Dealers' approach can lessen pain of staff cuts GM plans to distinguish Opel with image makeover Make or buy? Software can estimate costs for company Honda, Toyota see robots in their futures Bosch aims to lead in hybrids technology King of hearts Clarke aims to get GM back on track in N.A. Fields navigates Ford through 'white water' LaSorda steers Chrysler's global ventures Toyota's Lentz: A crash course in hard times Truck sales fall 13% in April Modine sells Thermacore unit Alcoa to close Mexico plant Toyoda Gosei expands in Mexico Hayes Lemmerz plans to close Georgia factory Japan's sales slide 2% in 1st quarter; output climbs Dealers Hyundai let U.S. direct Sonata freshening After .com and .edu, is it time for .car? Panoramic sunroof of Lincoln MKS boosts Inalfa sales Chrysler hedged gas price bet Smart phones help dealerships retain customers CAW completes pacts with GM, Chrysler early GM, UAW resolve 2 disputes New media buyer for Chrysler Visteon names Stebbins CEO Convertible registrations drop Ferrari: From denial to debut Buildings Porsches in U.S.? Depends whom you ask Toyota will go slow in Tupelo Ghosn is glum on prices, U.S. sales prospects Pischetsrieder has earned a celebratory cigar NHTSA spins VINs, averts meltdown F_RD GU_S WI_ BUI-_KS 50 PEOPLE FOR 50 YEARS Yutaka Katayama Clarence Talley Jim Morton Pete Brock Marvin Runyon Yoshikazu Hanawa Bill Bruce Shin Maki Jack Collins Mitsuya "Scape" Goto Bob Link Soichi Kawazoe Jerry Hirshberg Takashi Ishihara Roy Rogers John Parker Bob Thomas Teruo Uchino Morrie Sage Bob Thomas Nobe Wakatsuki Earl Hesterberg Carlos Ghosn Lee Clow Jerry Benefield Yutaka Kume Doug Betts Tim McCarthy Jed Connelly Atsushi Nakatsuji Dave Hubbard Joe Opre Patrick Pelata Yoshiyuki Kimura Diane Allen Mad Mike Taylor Chuck King Larry Dominique Mark Igo Mitsuhiko Yamashita Shiro Nakamura Tom Mignanelli Dick Roberts William Cushing Emil Hassan Chester Luby Jane Nakagawa Louis Schweitzer MR. K Ray Lemke Richard McCutcheon

Automotive News - May 19, 2008

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