Big truck demand tumbles

[hemidakota]

Friday, July 2, 2004

Big truck demand tumbles

GM takes hardest hit in June among U.S. automakers; Toyota Sequoia drops 17%

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News



Some trucks slip

How sales of some large SUVs and trucks are faring this year:
ModelYTD salesYTD change</B>
Cadillac Escalade ESV 6,8602 1.3%

Chevrolet Silverado 322,9070. 3%
Chevrolet Avalanche 42,109- 2.3%
Chevrolet Suburban 55,536 -2.2%
Chevrolet Tahoe 89,089 0.3%

GMC Yukon XL 29,054 4.7%

Hummer12,827 -24.4%

Ford Excursion 10,281 -13.2%
Ford Expedition 77,484 -11.6%
Ford F-150 pickup 432,969 7.7%

Toyota Sequoia27,383 -6.5%


DETROIT — Some of the auto industry’s money wagons — high-profit full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles — are starting to fall out of favor as consumers migrate to other types of vehicles, analysts say.

Hardest hit is General Motors Corp., which saw sales of several full-size pickups and SUVs nosedive in June compared with a year ago.

While sales of the GMC Sierra pickup inched up, its twin, the Chevrolet Silverado, suffered an 8.1 percent drop in sales last month.

Sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV fell 23.5 percent last month while demand dropped 13 percent for the GMC Yukon and 23.9 percent for the Yukon XL.

The June decline in GM’s full-size truck sales was shared by its domestic rivals, but to a lesser degree. Sales of Ford Motor Co.’s F-series pickups rose 1.3 percent last month, but demand for the Expedition SUV dipped 0.7 percent and the giant Excursion SUV saw its sales drop 10.7 percent. At DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group, Dodge Ram pickup sales slipped 3.7 percent in June.

Among foreign manufacturers, Toyota Motor Co. reported sales of its Sequoia full-size SUV fell 16.6 percent.

For the year, demand for many large SUVs and pickups is flat or down, while overall light vehicle sales are up 2.3 percent. Lincoln Navigator sales, for instance, are off 8 percent this year.

Analysts say consumers are switching to new entries, such as Nissan Motor Co.’s Titan pickup and Armada SUV. In other cases, they are moving on to other types of vehicles.

“There’s a lot of migration to crossover vehicles,” said Art Spinella, who heads Bandon, Ore.-based CNW Marketing and Research. “They’re also looking at a lot of new stuff like the Dodge Magnum.”

In GM’s case, consumers may simply be getting tired of the automaker’s aging full-size lineup, which is not due to be replaced until 2006 and 2007, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache.

The result could be a significant hit to GM’s bottom line.

“These products account for the majority of GM’s North American profits,” Lache wrote in a report to investors this week. “We believe that GM’s North American business may not stay profitable for long.”

CNW’s Spinella says a stale product line is a poison pill that pickup truck buyers won’t swallow.

“There is a sizable percentage of pickup truck buyers who have money to buy pickups more frequently,” said Spinella. “That’s what makes the pickup market so lucrative, but the automakers have to change the vehicles more often.”

Paul Ballew, GM’s executive director of market and industry analysis, said the company is still upbeat about its prospects in the truck market, noting the automaker’s overall light truck sales are up 3 percent this year, compared with the January-June period a year ago.

“For trucks, it was not a great month,” said Ballew, “but certainly a plus for us for the year as a whole, a very solid first half.”

Indeed, despite the slump in sales of full-size trucks, the Ford F-series, Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram pickups remained the top three selling vehicles in June.



You can reach Ed Garsten at (313) 223-3217 or egarsten@detnews.com.

[hemidakota]

(JUNE SALES)
by the automakers.
Following is a list of the top-20 selling vehicles, ranked by total units.

1 Ford F-Series pickup 432,969 402,072 1 +7.7
2 Chevy Silverado-C/K pickup 322,907 321,992 2 +0.3
3 Dodge Ram pickup 218,369 218,301 5 +0.0
4 Toyota Camry 197,798 184,848 4 +7.0
5 Honda Accord 192,106 193,876 3 -0.9
6 Ford Explorer 168,059 179,341 6 -6.3
7 Toyota Corolla/Matrix 167,894 171,062 9 -1.9
8 Honda Civic 162,483 153,009 8 +6.2
9 Ford Taurus 144,035 170,393 7 -15.5
10 Chevrolet Impala 139,460 133,948 13 +4.1
11 Dodge Caravan 131,367 133,411 19 -1.5
12 Chevrolet TrailBlazer 122,832 124,780 14 -1.6
13 Ford Focus 118,807 122,095 15 -2.7
14 Nissan Altima 116,699 100,685 12 +15.9
15 Chevrolet Cavalier 103,918 128,346 11 -19.0
16 Ford Escape 98,532 78,768 N/A +25.1
17 GMC Sierra pickup 98,370 91,510 17 +7.5
18 Jeep Grand Cherokee 95,118 89,728 18 +6.0
19 Ford Econoline 92,118 85,561 N/A +7.7
20 Chevrolet Tahoe 89,089 88,794 13 +0.3

CHRYSLER:

Reuters
Top-20 selling vehicles in U.S. through June
Thursday July 1, 4:32 pm ET

DETROIT, July 1 (Reuters) - The following are the 20
top-selling vehicles in the U.S. through June of 2004 as reported
DaimlerChrysler Corporation U.S. Sales Summary Thru June 2004

Month Sales DR % Sales CYTD DR % Model Curr Yr Page Ranking Yr Change Curr Yr Pr Yr Change

Sebring 12,482 10,229 17% 61,130 56,104 8%
Concorde 313 3,228 -91% 3,217 20,317 -84%
300 12,446 2,102 468% 40,793 15,504 161%
Prowler 0 103 -100% 0 511 -100%
Crossfire 1,439 0 0% 7,636 275 2659%
PT Cruiser 8,991 10,711 -19% 62,623 62,014 0%
Pacifica 5,888 6,642 -15% 39,885 11,470 245%
Town & Country 12,755 14,544 -16% 71,314 78,456 -10%
CHRYSLER BRAND 54,314 47,834 9% 286,598 244,651 16%
Wrangler 6,963 6,599 1% 44,709 33,271 33%
Liberty 13,579 12,147 7% 86,319 78,105 10%
Grand Cherokee 12,917 15,099 -18% 95,118 89,728 5%
JEEP BRAND 33,459 33,845 -5% 226,146 201,104 12%
Neon 9,774 9,900 -5% 64,098 65,927 -3%
Stratus 12,711 11,653 5% 58,748 60,176 -3%
Intrepid 477 9,528 -95% 6,434 52,116 -88%
Viper 205 201 -2% 984 1,245 -21%
Magnum 4,906 0 0% 7,226 0 0%
Dakota 10,127 9,926 -2% 55,690 59,525 -7%
Ram P/U 39,605 41,115 -8% 218,369 218,301 -1%
Caravan 25,652 22,925 7% 131,367 133,411 -2%
Durango 15,885 9,669 58% 70,304 55,848 25%
Ram Van/Wagon 1,069 2,272 -55% 5,240 12,634 -59%
Sprinter Van 1,068 94 991% 4,694 298 1465%
DODGE BRAND 121,479 117,283 -1% 623,154 659,481 -6%
TOTAL CHRYSLER GROUP 209,252 198,962 1% 1,135,898 1,105,236 2%
TOTAL CG CAR 51,894 47,219 6% 251,775 272,175 -8%
TOTAL CG TRUCK 157,358 151,743 0% 884,123 833,061 5%
Selling Days 25 24 153 152

300 models are up 468 pecent (June sales was over 12446 cars)
Magnum sold for june was 4906 models

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Chrysler Group

DaimlerChrysler AG U.S. Sales Summary Thru June 2004

Month Sales % Sales CYTD %
Curr Yr Page Ranking Yr Change Curr Yr Pr Yr Change

CHRYSLER GROUP 209,252 198,962 5% 1,135,898 1,105,236 3%
MERCEDES-BENZ 17,484 17,233 2% 103,168 105,888 -3%

[FreeLantz]

Ram is only down about a percent for the year so far.....Durango is up significantly.........the other guys' are doing much worse.....and this is especially bad for Ford since they just redesigned their F-150 and Expedition....

[hemidakota]

I am glad that there is still profitting for Ford to keep them rolling until other models hit the showroom.