Buyer incentives help automakers finish year strong
By John Porretto
Associated Press
Associated Press
The traditional Big Three U.S. automakers posted a 4 percent drop in sales last year after a robust 2001, while several foreign makers had their best years on record.
Sales associate Toni Lynn cleans snow from cars at Tim Lally Chevrolet in Bedford, Ohio. The world's top automakers posted strong sales in December.
No. 1 General Motors Corp. said Friday its 2002 sales of cars and trucks were down 1 percent from 2001. No. 2 Ford Motor Co. was off 10 percent for the year, while DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group had a 3 percent decline in total sales.
Industrywide, 2002 total U.S. light vehicle sales were about 16.8 million, compared with 17.2 million in 2001, the second-best year ever.
However, much of the volume in 2002 was fueled by profit-shrinking incentives, and questions linger about prospects for sales in the coming months.
GM in particular poured on incentives in December to meet year-end market-share goals. It sold 466,875 vehicles last month, a 36 percent increase over December 2001 and likely enough to mark its second straight year of U.S. share growth.
But Goldman Sachs & Co. said the net result could be a $115 million loss.
U.S. sales figures for foreign automakers reflected their continued expansion of manufacturing capacity and models.
Among those posting records for annual U.S. sales in 2002 were American Honda Motor Co., American Suzuki Motor Corp., Audi of America Inc., BMW Group, Hyundai Motor America, Kia Motors America, Mercedes-Benz USA, Mitsubishi Motors North America and Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
Total sales for Toyota, including the Toyota and Lexus brands, were up 1 percent for the year. Toyota said its Camry became the best-selling car in America for the fifth time in the past six years, with 434,145 units sold, surpassing 2001's top-selling Honda Accord.
"There's a good chance (the foreign makers) will add more market share in '03, but not to the degree they have in the past couple of years," said analyst David Healy of Burnham Securities Inc. "Detroit is beginning to get its act together with regard to new models."
Some analysts predict 2003 U.S. sales will be off a bit from 2002 — somewhere between 16 million and 16.5 million light vehicles.
