Asian automakers, led by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, raised US market share to a record in August, emphasizing new models over incentives, analysts said. Toyota outsold DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler for the first time.
Total new-vehicle sales fell 0.8 percent from a year ago to 1.63 million, with Asia-based brands posting an 8 percent gain to 577,570, according to Autodata Corp. The 10 Asian automakers that compete in the US raised their combined share to 35.4 percent in August, a record for a single month, Autodata said.
The gains came from new or redesigned products, including Toyota's Sienna minivan and 4Runner sport-utility, Honda's Element and Pilot light trucks and Nissan's Quest minivan and Murano and Infiniti FX sport-utilities, analysts said. As a result all three companies were able to offer incentives at least a third less generous than US competitors.
"It's a combination of product and strong brand image," said Wes Brown, an auto analyst at marketing consultant Nextrend.
"The real product onslaught over the last few years has been from import brands who keep gaining incremental sales by entering new segments and keep refreshing their existing products at a faster pace" than US-based competitors.
Toyota, fourth in US sales, said demand for its vehicles rose 11 percent to 200,482, surpassing Chrysler for the first time. Honda, No. 5 in the US, also posted an 11 percent gain, and Nissan's sales rose 14 percent. Sales for General Motors Corp fell 0.5 percent, Ford Motor Co posted a 12 percent drop and Chrysler said its sales declined 6.4 percent.
Toyota outselling Chrysler is "a big deal, but not really a surprise given the current sales trend," said Ken Yamada, senior analyst for Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC, which manages US$9 billion, including Toyota shares. Toyota's gains aren't "achieved by extraordinary activities; it's the quality of their product and the cost of their vehicles."
Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, sold 200,482 Toyota-brand and Lexus luxury cars and trucks last month. Its market share climbed 0.9 percentage point to 12.3 percent last month, its highest since entering the US market.
Honda's combined sales of Honda and Acura vehicles totaled 147,253, its best ever.
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