Shares of Toyota Motor
Corp, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co fell after their combined August US
sales declined for the first time since 2002.
Total sales and market share slid for Japan's three biggest automakers and the
seven other Asian carmakers that sell in the world's largest car market. Surging
gasoline prices and damage in Florida from Hurricane Charley caused the US car
market to shrink 12.4 per cent, according to Autodata Corp. The US is the most
profitable market for Japanese carmakers. China Daily reported Friday.
"The US market is unlikely to grow as much as before, as a slowdown in the
US economy curbs consumer spending, which would affect earnings at automakers,"
said Makoto Sakuma, who helps manage the equivalent of US$3.7 billion at Asahi
Life Asset Management Co in Tokyo. "Still, Japanese automakers are less
vulnerable to a slowdown in the US market, as their competitiveness is stronger
than their rivals," Sakuma said.
The 10 Asian automakers competing in the US had a combined 35.2 per cent of
the market last month, a drop of 0.2 of a percentage point from a year earlier,
according to Autodata Corp. Their combined sales fell 12.9 per cent, more than
the 12.1 per cent decline for General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler.
Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn expects the drop to be temporary and
sales growth to resume. The company has revised its plan for expansion in the
US.
Ghosn forecasts a gain of 360,000 units by September 2005 from an earlier
prediction of 300,000 units.
"The US market will be strong that is why we are revising our sales target
upwards," said Ghosn, speaking to journalists in Yokohama.
Toyota shares fell as much as 1 per cent to 4,310 yen (US$39.32) in Tokyo.
Honda shares declined as much as 1.8 per cent to 5,320 yen (US$48.54) and Nissan
shares fell as much as 1 per cent to 1,177 yen (US$10.74) at 11:00 am yesterday
in Tokyo.
"I wouldn't expect foreign automakers to reverse the trend and continue to
lose market share the rest of this year," said Sasha Kamper at Principal Global
Investors in Des Moines, Iowa. "I think they're still in a strong position."
Consumers are putting off vehicle purchases with gasoline prices 25 per
cent higher than at the start of the year. US consumer confidence fell in August
for the first time since February, partly because of higher fuel prices, forcing
the US to scale back estimates of economic growth.
Total US sales of cars and light trucks fell 12.4 per cent to 1.43 million,
according to Autodata.
Sales declined 10 per cent at Toyota, 14 per cent at Honda and 0.6 per cent
at Nissan. Those three companies, other Japanese makers and South Korea's
Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp together, sold 503,323 cars and light
trucks in August, a decline from 577,570 a year earlier.
The Asian makers' combined US market share for this year through August
rose 1.7 points to 34.6 per cent, Autodata said. Their sales for that period
increased 5.2 per cent, compared with a 0.2 per cent rise for the industry.
Toyota, Asia's largest automaker, posted a 7.5 per cent drop in car sales
and a 15 per cent decrease for light trucks. Toyota, which ranks fourth in US
sales, sold 180,394 vehicles, down from 200,482 a year earlier.
Sales fell 11 per cent to 154,994 for Toyota-brand and Scion models and 3.8
per cent to 11,787 for Lexus luxury vehicles. Scion, which expanded to all major
US markets in June, posted sales of 12,480 cars, led by the new tC sports coupe.
The Toyota City, Japan-based company's market share rose 0.3 of a
percentage point to 12.6 per cent for the month.
Honda sold 126,625 cars and trucks last month, down from 147,253 a year
earlier.
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