GM, Ford US sales slide continues in January

[Variance]

GM, Ford US sales slide continues in January

By Poornima Gupta

Mon Jan 30, 11:28 AM ET

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news) lost additional U.S sales and market share to Japanese rivals in January, analysts said, as consumers' shift toward more fuel-efficient vehicles left Detroit's top automakers in the slow lane.

Wall Street expects GM and Ford, whose U.S. share has declined steadily over the last decade, to report sales slides of as much as 10 percent when the industry releases results on Wednesday. Toyota Motor Corp.(7203.T) is seen posting a gain of about 10 percent.

"Imports and transplants have eaten Detroit's lunch and are beginning to nibble at its dinner as well," Burnham Securities analyst David Healy said.

Weaker sales will be the latest setback for GM, which last week reported a net loss of $4.8 billion, its fifth straight quarterly loss. GM's automotive unit lost $1.5 billion in the quarter, driven by large losses in North America.

Ford is also struggling on home ground. Last week it said it planned to cut up to 30,000 jobs and close 14 plants in North America to align production capacity with demand as it continued to lose market share.

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Detroit's traditional Big Three automakers fell to 54.4 percent in January from 57 percent a year earlier, according to research firm Edmunds.com.

"This month, compact cars and compact SUVs are selling particularly well, while sales of trucks, luxury cars and large cars are suffering," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com.

U.S. automakers' sales declined through 2005 in the face of plunging demand for traditional truck-based SUVs, their one-time cash cows, as gasoline prices soared. Analysts see the trend continuing in this month.

Sales across the industry on a seasonally-adjusted basis are expected to be in the range of 16 million to 16.5 million, down from a rate of 17.1 million rate in December and nearly flat to slightly higher than the 16.3 million rate a year ago, Wall Street analysts said.

The continuing decline in demand for SUVs comes as GM launches its GMT 900 series, a line-up of redesigned SUVs, including the Tahoe, and pickup trucks. The automaker is banking on the new products, which are slightly more fuel-efficient than the current models, to stem its sales slide. Ford is also introducing the redesigned 2007 Ford Expedition SUV this year.

"The GMT-900 version of the Chevy Tahoe is officially for sale now, but it is difficult to gauge how strong a start the vehicle is having," Bear Stearns analyst Peter Nesvold said on Monday. "Nonetheless, early results will be highly scrutinized, given how much is riding on the T-900."

DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE:DCX - news)(DCXGn.DE) Chrysler arm, the lone Detroit automaker to post higher U.S. sales in 2005, could see customer purchases of its vehicles slide between 2 percent and 5 percent in January, according to analysts.

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (7267.T), on the other hand, is expected to post double-digit sales increases for the month, while analysts said Nissan Motor Co.'s (7201.T) sales may decline slightly.

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060130/bs_nm/...wN5bnN1YmNhdA--

[Sal Collaziano]

This is unbelievable.. Maybe it's just too late for domestic automobile companies to win back the hearts of Americans...

[Matt276]

Like if GM did not have fuel efficient car, same old story. The more I think about it, the more I don't see GM coming back. It will be a slow death.

Edited January 30, 2006 by Matt276

[Northstar]

If GM is to be saved, it will be saved by the 900s, Lambdas, new VUE and the Aura. The Solstice and Sky aren't going to save GM even if they help to turn around it's image. If GM is

Personally, I don't think GM will die before Ford, as I see GM's future as much brighter than Ford's.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Wall Street expects GM and Ford, whose U.S. share has declined steadily over the last decade,

Nice that ALL the media is pointing this "milestone" out..

"Imports and transplants have eaten Detroit's lunch and are beginning to nibble at its dinner as well," Burnham Securities analyst David Healy said.

2 notes...

1) This is obviously a follow up to the quote made last year of "The imports are eating Detroit's lunch"

2) Nice that he worked "transplants" in there... ENTER: the next step in the propaganda war: Wall Street. We see who they're in bed with.

slightly more fuel-efficient

This is what happens when the media CAN'T deny facts, but doesn't want to give the domestics credit.

"Nonetheless, early results will be highly scrutinized, given how much is riding on the T-900."

a.k.a. chomping at the bit to see Detroit dead.

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (7267.T), on the other hand, is expected to post double-digit sales increases for the month,

Of course!

Like I said; now that Toyota has been boosted and poised to pass GM, the media is getting behind Honda and it shows.