The Big Five automakers
This chart shows the new order in the US car market, with the top five companies selling 75% of all the vehicles. We've clearly gone from the Big Three to the Big Five, and trend lines are not good for the old big three.
| Company |
Sales for July 2007 |
Market share |
| General Motors |
312,623 |
23.9% |
| Toyota |
224,058 |
17.1% |
| Ford |
170,218 |
13.7% |
| Honda |
141,049 |
10.8% |
| Chrysler |
137,728 |
10.5% |
| Nissan |
87,577 |
6.7% |
Source: New York Times, p. C3, 9/2/07
Last month for the first time, vehicles from foreign companies outsold those made by US companies. Foreign companies have long had the lead in sedans, but now they are ahead if you include light trucks, vans, and SUVs. That's an isolated, but combined with the poor financial performance of the US car companies, it is a psychological marker.
While all auto companies have shown a year-to-year decline in total vehicle sales (8.7% fewer total cars and light trucks compared to last July), the American headquartered companies have done worse. GM sales slipped by 19.1% compared to the previous year, while Ford sales were down 16.7%. By contrast, Toyota sales were only down 3.5% and Honda sales down 3.2%. Chrysler, surprisingly, did OK, with a decline of 4.6%. Nissan did very well with a gain of 5.8%.
It's hard to see how Ford and Chrysler can gain market share, without giving even more buying incentives and further hurting income. And meanwhile, even the Japanese car companies are probably going to face an onslaught from Chinese automakers over the next decade. But note that in spite of plethora of car choices available, so much of the market is concentrate din the hands of five companies.
