The great depression is making life miserable in the U.S. It is even catching up with the automotive industry. With the crude oil price hitting all-time highs and when doubts prevail about the availability of the fuel, and the scientific fraternity burn their midnight oil to come up with an alternative for oil, who can we blame if people show the cold shoulder to autos. More than that it is more economical to hire a taxi, rather than maintaining a luxurious sedan. The automotive sales figures of 2007 show some good signs for some cars while others show dismal performance.
Total sales show a down swing in the US with a decrease of 2.5% over 2006. Domestic vehicles are down 4% while automobile imports have gone up 2%. When it comes to autos, it is again General Motors leading the fray with Ford and Chrysler LLC following upon their heels. While sales of General Motors is down 6%, Ford and Chrysler LLC are down 11% and 3.1% respectively.
Toyota has surpassed Ford in sales in the US by about 3.5% selling about 60,000 more vehicles than Ford. It is something unbelievable and happened for the first time. The top European car model is still the BMW. It shows a 7% increase over last year. Volkswagen comes second. The sale of the Ford truck series is up and the pickup truck has been at the top of the best-seller list in America for more than 25 years.
But sales of the F-Series were down by 13 percent, and the Chevrolet Silverado ended the year about 72,000 units behind. Even the October sales of general Motors plunged headlong by 45 percent, with Ford and Chrysler LLC following closely to a pathetically weak level in the past 25 years. The reason is blamed on low consumer confidence coupled with economic depression. People are reluctant to invest in motor vehicles due to the fear that they may suffer more if they invest in them.
This October, the vehicles sold were fewer than the vehicles sold last year this month. This month the sales were only 838,156 vehicles which is 32% less. According to Auto data Corp and Wards Auto Info, this is the worst the industry has been since January 1991. This is clearly a severe, severe recession for the U.S. automotive industry and something we really can’t sustain. Clearly we are in a dire situation Says Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis. He further adds that if GM sales were adjusted for population growth, this was the worst hit that has ever happened.
It's truck sales also tumbled by 51 percent. Passenger car sales also dipped by 34 percent. Even Ford’s Focus small car, cannot hold it's ground and saw its sales drop by 18 percent. The condition is so bad that cars that were once selling high volumes show a dismal state. For the Honda Acura model, it was the other way round and had their sales rise by 6 percent. Nissan Corp also had nothing to boast about. The bleak car sales is an issue of concern for the coming president for they have promised great investment in this sector.
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