US auto sales appeared to stabilize in May, easing the path to recovery for a troubled industry wracked by bankruptcy filings at General Motors and Chrysler, industry data has shown.
Chrysler said it managed to sell more vehicles to retail customers in May than any other month so far this year, despite its entry into bankruptcy.
That bodes well for General Motors, which managed to increase its market share for the second consecutive month even as its much-anticipated bankruptcy filing dominated headlines.
Ford, the only member of Detroit’s big-three automakers not to ask for billions in government aid to survive the downturn, announced plans to increase production after expanding its market share to the highest point in three years.
Total US auto sales were down 33.7 percent at 925,824 vehicles compared with May 2008, according to Autodata.
But automakers took comfort in the fact that the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 9.91 million was the industry’s best performance this year.
“The big jump in consumer confidence in May translated into a solid gain in retail vehicle sales compared to April,” said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales.
“We’re encouraged that consumers are beginning to return to showrooms and that the industry continues to show signs of stabilization.”
Toyota’s market share fell to 16.5 percent in May from 18.4 percent a year earlier as its sales fell 41 percent to 152,583 vehicles, according to Autodata.
That allowed Ford to overtake the Japanese automaker for the number two spot with 16.8 percent of the US market, even as May sales fell 24 percent to 155,954. Ford’s share in May 2008 was 16.8 percent.
Ford attributed its success to the popularity of its new models, which had pushes sales to the highest level since July 2008.
“At Ford, the future is now,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of sales and marketing.
“New products account for 50 percent of our sales, and demand for these products is driving our market share gains.
“Even as the competitive environment intensifies, Ford’s relentless pursuit of quality, fuel efficiency, smart technology and appealing designs is winning new customers.”
GM managed to boost its share of the US market to 20.5 percent from 19.1 percent in May 2008 even as sales fell 30 percent to 191,875 vehicles.
“This gives us a lot of confidence that some of the negative issues we’ve had to deal with are behind us and have not affected our sales,” said GM sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni.
“As we reinvent the company and move to become a leaner, more profitable, more customer focused company I think these positive sales results for May give us a good foundation to build on.”
GM also managed to increase its share of the global market to 12.3 percent from 12.0 in April, DiGiovanni said in a conference call.
Chrysler, which won approval from a bankruptcy judge Monday to sell its best assets to a new company run by Italy’s Fiat, also expressed relief.
“We are pleased that consumers responded to Chrysler’s reorganization by purchasing our products, resulting in our best retail sales month of the year,” said Jim Press, Chrysler’s president and vice chairman.
“The uncertainty that has been surrounding Chrysler for the last few months is coming to an end, and a vibrant, new company is beginning to take shape,” Press added.
But while Chrysler may have increased its share of the retail market, it took a massive hit on fleet sales after plants were closed in order to cut costs and reduce its bloated inventory.
Chrysler’s total sales fell 47 percent to 79,010 vehicles in May, pushing its market share down to 8.5 percent in May from 9.4 percent in April and 10.6 percent in May 2008, according to Autodata.
Japanese automaker Honda also took a hit in May as a 42 percent drop in sales pushed its market share down to 10.6 percent from 12.0 a year earlier with 98,344 vehicles sold.
Nissan’s share grew marginally to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent a year earlier after sales fell 33 percent to 67,489 vehicles.
Korea’s Hyundai continued to post gains as its share rose to 4.0 from 3.3 percent a year earlier even as sales fell 20.4 percent to 36,937.
