U.S. auto sales end '07 on weak note
DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers reported lower U.S. sales for December led by a 9 percent slide at Ford Motor Co as the industry closed out its weakest year in over a decade and faced the prospect of deeper declines in 2008.
Ford's slide and gains by Toyota Motor Corp in 2007 made the Japanese automaker the No. 2 player in the U.S. market, ending Ford's 76-year claim to that title.
The auto sales results, one of the first snapshots each month of U.S. consumer spending, came as oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel.
Higher gasoline prices combined with a weak housing market have raised concerns that the U.S. economy could tip into recession in 2008 and cause consumers to delay big-ticket purchases such as new vehicles.
Shares in GM and Ford slipped to their lowest levels since mid-2006 in advance of the sales results, which were largely as analysts' had expected.
General Motors Corp, on track to be surpassed by Toyota for global sales leadership in 2007, saw its U.S. sales drop 5 percent in December. Excluding heavier trucks, GM's sales were down 4 percent.
Toyota's sales for December were down 1.7 percent, while smaller rival Nissan Motor Co posted a sales decline of 2.4 percent.
Privately held Chrysler LLC and Honda Motor Co were the only major automakers to avoid sales declines. Honda's results were almost flat, buoyed by sales gains for its Accord and Civic sedans.
Chrysler posted a sales rise of just under 1 percent, driven by a strong performance by its revamped minivans, a family-friendly segment other automakers have abandoned.
On a full-year basis, GM and Chrysler sales were both down 6 percent while Ford sales dropped 12 percent reflecting a sharp pullback in sales to rental car agencies and a decision to scrap models such as the older version of its Taurus sedan.
Ford's retail market share also fell below the 13 percent mark in December for the second consecutive month. The company has targeted maintaining a 13 percent retail market share as the basis for its turnaround.
Japanese automakers were all up on a full-year basis. Toyota sales rose 2.7 percent, while Honda's sales gained 2.5 percent. Nissan bounced back from a slow year in 2006 with a 4.5 percent gain.
Reflecting tougher expectations for the current year, Toyota trimmed its 2008 U.S. sales outlook. Although Toyota had earlier expected full-year sales growth of about 3 percent, executives said on Thursday that gains were now expected to be 1 percent to 2 percent.
The No. 1 Japanese automaker also said it expected flat hybrid sales in 2008 after a year of explosive growth that saw sales of its market-leading Prius rise 69 percent.
TACKLING A TOUGH YEAR Continued...
