May 2011 Auto Sales Thread
06-02-11, 06:15 AM
#31
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New Toyota Incentives
With Japanese and North American factories returning to near-full production, Toyota Division is launching a swath of 0% loan and lease incentives on core models.
Starting today, Toyota is offering 0% financing for 60 months on the Camry, and lease rates starting at less than $200 a month.
On the Tundra pickup, the offer is 0% financing for 60 months or a rebate of of $2,000 to $2,500 depending on the model.
Low interest rates and special lease rates also are being offered on the Corolla, Sienna, Highlander, Venza and Avalon. All are built in North America.
Although Toyota usually gives its U.S. sales regions latitude to set their own incentives, the latest discounts are a national promotion that may have some regional variations. Toyota also is allowing current lease owners to extend leases.
Toyota brand sales fell 30% in May and are now up just 1% in a market that is up 14% for the 1st 5 months of the year.
Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager, described May as "2 different months," because the post-earthquake production outlook grew more favorable as May progressed.
He said Toyota sold 25% of its total May volume over the Memorial Day weekend, reflecting enhanced discounts the automaker implemented after a sluggish start.
"Our availability will be much stronger in June than it was in May," Carter said. "Increasing Prius production remains the top company priority, and Camry and Corolla will be back to full production in June."
Randy Pflughaupt, Toyota's group vice president of sales administration, said Toyota has "reached the low point of product flow." He said there is a 30-days supply of the Corolla and a 50-days supply of the Camry. Stockpiles of the Prius hybrid remain tight at a 10-days supply.
Currently, Toyota Division has about 195,000 units in ground stock, down about 50,000 units from the start of May.
Carter did not predict when dealers would return to pre-quake inventory levels because of fluctuating sales rates. While most forecasters had predicted a sales rate of 13 million to 13.2 million, the pace for May was only 11.78 million.
"The market took a little bit of a breather," Carter said. "We may have taken a plateau, but we remain bullish on the industry in the 3rd and 4th quarter."
The Lexus brand continues to struggle. Its inventory levels were already low before the March 11 earthquake, a condition that has worsened.
Mark Templin, general manager of Lexus, said Lexus' inventory hit its lowest level in May in more than 6 years. Lexus' May sales were off 45% because of short supplies. Lexus has about 15,000 units on the ground, far below Templin's desired level of 35,000 units.
Lexus will not launch any incentive plans in June while it waits for its Japan-sourced products to start arriving. But Templin said Lexus will "reward customers for waiting."
You can reach Mark Rechtin at mrechtin@crain.com.
06-03-11, 05:51 AM
#32
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From my understanding it was the worst Auto Sales Month since 1968. Godspeed to those still recovering in Japan. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...274570920.html
By YOSHIO TAKAHASHI
TOKYO—Japan's auto sales slumped 38% from a year earlier in May, hammered by a shortage of parts as a result of the March 11 earthquake. But the sales drop was less than the record plunge in the previous month, as car makers were able to operate domestic plants for the whole month for the first time since the disaster.
Domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses fell to 142,154 vehicles in May from 228,514 in the same month last year, as supplies of some parts remained crimped.
Sales of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles plummeted 57% to 48,733 in May, with those of the luxury Lexus brand down 5.3% at 1,789. The weak numbers came out the same day Toyota announced a global recall of about 140,000 vehicles, including 106,000 first-generation Prius hybrids, in the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Germany and elsewhere.
Nissan Motor Co.'s sales dropped 16% to 28,037, and Honda Motor Co.'s sales tumbled 35% to 21,294.
However, sales in May edged toward a recovery from the 51% drop to 108,824 vehicles in April, with auto makers having reopened many factories from the middle of April.
The better May sales performance follows recent improvements in the outlook for output resumption by some makers.
Toyota and Honda both said in recent days that they expect domestic manufacturing to be back to normal by summer, sooner than previously expected, suggesting sales should rebound at a healthy pace in the coming months.
Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn has pledged to increase Nissan's year-to-year sales by making up for lost production during the fiscal second half through March.
But a return to full production in the summer would come at a sensitive time, with large areas of eastern Japan facing potential power shortages as many power plants remain offline after the disaster.
In an industrywide scheme to deal with power outages, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said in late May that car makers will close domestic plants Thursdays and Fridays. Instead, they will operate Saturdays and Sundays from July to September to reduce power use during the week.
But it was unclear whether a production recovery will enable auto sales to reach JAMA's initial estimate of 4.47 million vehicles, including minivehicles, for 2011. In the first five months of the year, sales in Japan totaled about 1.57 million vehicles, about 35% of the full-year target.
"It is too early to update our forecast at this stage," said Toshiyuki Shiga, chairman of JAMA and Nissan's chief operating officer, at a news conference.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...274570920.html
By YOSHIO TAKAHASHI
TOKYO—Japan's auto sales slumped 38% from a year earlier in May, hammered by a shortage of parts as a result of the March 11 earthquake. But the sales drop was less than the record plunge in the previous month, as car makers were able to operate domestic plants for the whole month for the first time since the disaster.
Domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses fell to 142,154 vehicles in May from 228,514 in the same month last year, as supplies of some parts remained crimped.
Sales of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles plummeted 57% to 48,733 in May, with those of the luxury Lexus brand down 5.3% at 1,789. The weak numbers came out the same day Toyota announced a global recall of about 140,000 vehicles, including 106,000 first-generation Prius hybrids, in the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Germany and elsewhere.
Nissan Motor Co.'s sales dropped 16% to 28,037, and Honda Motor Co.'s sales tumbled 35% to 21,294.
However, sales in May edged toward a recovery from the 51% drop to 108,824 vehicles in April, with auto makers having reopened many factories from the middle of April.
The better May sales performance follows recent improvements in the outlook for output resumption by some makers.
Toyota and Honda both said in recent days that they expect domestic manufacturing to be back to normal by summer, sooner than previously expected, suggesting sales should rebound at a healthy pace in the coming months.
Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn has pledged to increase Nissan's year-to-year sales by making up for lost production during the fiscal second half through March.
But a return to full production in the summer would come at a sensitive time, with large areas of eastern Japan facing potential power shortages as many power plants remain offline after the disaster.
In an industrywide scheme to deal with power outages, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said in late May that car makers will close domestic plants Thursdays and Fridays. Instead, they will operate Saturdays and Sundays from July to September to reduce power use during the week.
But it was unclear whether a production recovery will enable auto sales to reach JAMA's initial estimate of 4.47 million vehicles, including minivehicles, for 2011. In the first five months of the year, sales in Japan totaled about 1.57 million vehicles, about 35% of the full-year target.
"It is too early to update our forecast at this stage," said Toshiyuki Shiga, chairman of JAMA and Nissan's chief operating officer, at a news conference.
06-05-11, 08:17 PM
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http://hybridcars.com/hybrid-clean-d.../may-2011.html
The number of hybrid gas-electric cars sold in the U.S. declined from 34,000 in March to 25,000 in April, and to 16,000 in May. The drop by half in just two months is attributed to supply shortages for vehicles and related components due to the March earthquake in Japan. The lack of inventory, combined with rising demand due to high gas prices, lifted prices (when incentives evaporated). This caused some folks considering a hybrid to choose a less expensive model or postpone a purchase.
Prius was in short supply in May. Sales of the most popular hybrid fell by 51 percent.
At the same time, general consumer confidence was shaken throughout the spring due to high gas prices. The overall auto market is down 4 percent compared to a year ago. Hybrids were hit even harder, taking a precipitous fall of 42.1 percent compared to 2010. As usual, the Toyota Prius dominates the market, with its 51 percent drop compared to a year ago pulling down the total hybrid market numbers.
There were similar, and even worse numbers, reported throughout the entire hybrid field—most notably a 78 percent fall in sales of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and an 84 percent drop in sales of the Lexus HS 250h.
The supply disruption produced what will likely go down as one of the worst months for hybrid sales in recent years. The take-rate for hybrids fell to 1.5 percent.
Incentives in the overall market were down between $500 and $800 in May, and perhaps even more so for hybrids, since they are in such short supply.
On the plug-in front, sales of the Chevy Volt were modest this month—allowing the Nissan LEAF to catch up in total sales to date in the category. Some observers attribute low Volt sales to G.M.'s decision to hold off on customer sales to allow dealers to have demos for prospective customers, or simply to draw in traffic to the showroom where buyers might choose other vehicles.
Diesels escaped the supply disruption. As a result, sales of clean diesel vehicles continued to impress—up 34 percent compared to a year ago—with the Jetta TDI carrying the load in terms of volume.
We will keep a careful watch on hybrid sales when supply returns to normal. This will determine if demand has been affected by the easing of gas prices in the past few weeks.
Prius was in short supply in May. Sales of the most popular hybrid fell by 51 percent.
At the same time, general consumer confidence was shaken throughout the spring due to high gas prices. The overall auto market is down 4 percent compared to a year ago. Hybrids were hit even harder, taking a precipitous fall of 42.1 percent compared to 2010. As usual, the Toyota Prius dominates the market, with its 51 percent drop compared to a year ago pulling down the total hybrid market numbers.
There were similar, and even worse numbers, reported throughout the entire hybrid field—most notably a 78 percent fall in sales of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and an 84 percent drop in sales of the Lexus HS 250h.
The supply disruption produced what will likely go down as one of the worst months for hybrid sales in recent years. The take-rate for hybrids fell to 1.5 percent.
Incentives in the overall market were down between $500 and $800 in May, and perhaps even more so for hybrids, since they are in such short supply.
On the plug-in front, sales of the Chevy Volt were modest this month—allowing the Nissan LEAF to catch up in total sales to date in the category. Some observers attribute low Volt sales to G.M.'s decision to hold off on customer sales to allow dealers to have demos for prospective customers, or simply to draw in traffic to the showroom where buyers might choose other vehicles.
Diesels escaped the supply disruption. As a result, sales of clean diesel vehicles continued to impress—up 34 percent compared to a year ago—with the Jetta TDI carrying the load in terms of volume.
We will keep a careful watch on hybrid sales when supply returns to normal. This will determine if demand has been affected by the easing of gas prices in the past few weeks.
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