US auto sales took a beating in September as the nation's worsening economy turned dealer showrooms into ghost towns and major automakers reported sales drops of up to 37 percent Wednesday.
While sales have been slipping all year, automakers reported a sharp drop-off in sales in the last ten days of the month as news of bank failures and a stock market meltdown increased economic uncertainty.
To make matters worse, some of those who did visit showrooms had problems getting auto loans amid a credit crunch.
Total auto sales fell 26.6 percent in September and are now down 12.8 percent for the first nine months of the year, according to Autodata.
“There is a lack of consumer confidence,” Don Esmond, vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales USA, said in a conference call.
“Consumers have put their hand on their wallet and they have not removed it.”
Toyota Motor reported a 29.5 percent drop in September US sales to 144,260 vehicles while year-to-date sales are down 10.4 percent to 1.8 million vehicles.
Its share of the US market slipped to 15 percent from 16.2 percent in September of 2007 although its share for the first nine months of the year is up at 16.7 percent, according to Autodata.
Ford sales analyst George Pipas compared the sales dropoff in the last 10 days of the month to the period after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and warned that it could take automakers longer to recover this time.
“The situation is a little more problematic than it was in the fall of 2001,” he said in a conference call.
“You'll have to see the housing market recover.”
Ford's September sales fell 34 percent to 116,734 vehicles while year-to-date sales are down 17.3 percent at 1.5 million vehicles. Its market share fell to 12.1 percent from 13.3 percent in September 2007.
General Motors heralded a 16 percent drop in US sales in September as a sign of its recovery Wednesday because it managed to post narrower losses than its competitors.
The automaker said it posted its highest monthly market share of the year with sales of 284,300 vehicles.
“September marked the second consecutive month where GM performed extremely well in tough market conditions,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing for GM North America.
GM's market share rose to 29.1 percent in September compared with 25.3 percent a year earlier, although its share for the year to date was down slightly at 22.3 percent from 23.6 percent in 2007.
Chrysler has begun offering better terms to customers as sales dropped 33 percent to 107,349 in September amid a broad economic slowdown.
“The economy is going through a difficult restructuring, resulting in great uncertainty among consumers,” said Jim Press, vice chairman and president of Chrysler LLC.
“We are committed to supporting our customers with significant savings and innovative financing, and our dealers with new business solutions,” he said.
“Longer term, we all need to be investing in building a healthier automobile industry and be ready to compete when the economy strengthens.”
Year-to-date sales were down 25 percent to 1.2 million vehicles and the automaker has eliminated 200 dealerships so far this year amid a broad restructuring program aimed at shrinking the company which has been hard-hit by competition from Asian automakers.
It launched a new incentive program Wednesday offering customers up to 6,000 dollars in cash back on some purchases or zero percent interest rates as market share slipped to 11.1 percent from 12.2 percent in September 2007.
Honda reported a 20.9 percent drop in sales to 96,629 vehicles in September with year-to-date sales down 1.1 percent at 1.2 million.
But Honda still managed to increase its share of the US market to 10 percent from 9.7 percent in September 2007 and 11 percent for the year so far compared with 9.7 percent in the first nine months of 2007.
“This September was an incredibly volatile month for Wall Street,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. “Obviously, no one is immune to market shifts as dramatic as we have been seeing.”
Nissan reported a 36.8 percent drop in sales to 59,565 vehicles with year-to-date sales down 3.4 percent at 785,698 vehicles.
Its share fell to 6.2 percent from 7.2 percent in September 2007 but is still up to 7.3 percent this year from 6.6 percent in the first nine months of 2007, according to Autodata.
