2004 Car Sales Rose One Percent
The Daily Auto Insider: Aggressive year-end promotions stimulated car and truck sales in December, raising sales for the month to 8% more than during the same period last year.
By r&t staff
Aggressive year-end promotions stimulated car and truck sales in December, raising sales for the month to 8% more than during the same period last year. Total sales for 2004 hit a three-year high of 16.9 million vehicles, although just barely, topping 2003 sales by just one percentage point.
As for Detroit's Big Three, their combined market share ended at an all-time low. Although Chrysler posted a 9 percent sales rise in December and a 4 percent gain for the year, General Motors and Ford lost more ground to Asian automakers who — excluding U.S.-owned brands — captured 31 percent of the market last year, while the combined share of Detroit automakers sank to 58.7 percent.
GM, despite generous discounting, suffered a 3 percent decline in December — and a 1 percent drop in 2004. Although GM's truck sales edged 1 percent higher to 4.6 million vehicles last year, its performance was dampened by a 4 percent drop in car sales. GM's Chevrolet brand posted its best year since 1988, but did not unseat Ford, which remains the best-selling brand by nearly 19,000 units.
Ford's sales were flat in December and down nearly 5 percent for 2004 as sales of the large SUV dropped 24%, while demand for the midsize Explorer fell 25%. However, Ford held on to the best-selling vehicle title as its once again outsold everything else.
DaimlerChrysler, lifted by strong demand for new Chrysler vehicles and a 23% rise in Mercedes-Benz sales, improved overall December sales by 10% from a year earlier.
Toyota said sales in December grew 22% to 187,932 vehicles from a year earlier. For the full year, the company said it sold 2,060,049 vehicles in the U.S., up 10% from a year earlier and marking the first time the automaker has crossed the two-million sales mark in the U.S.
Honda's sales leaped by 31 percent in December, reflecting strong sales of the and SUVs. Its full-year sales were up just 1 percent, reflecting slow sales prior to a string of launches in the second half of the year. Honda's premium Acura brand reported a 16 percent jump in full-year sales.
Nissan's sales bounded 38 percent higher in December and were up 24 percent for the year after the rollout of many new vehicles. Nissan set a new record for U.S. sales of 985,988 vehicles.
South Korea's Hyundai reported a 5 percent rise in full-year sales, and its Kia brand posted a 13 percent rise to 270,055 vehicles — finishing ahead of all the European brands, including Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes.
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