Toyota beats Ford, Honda beats Chrysler in U.S. sales
August 2, 2006

In July, Toyota beat Ford for the first time in U.S. sales, selling 241,826 vehicles vs. Ford's 240,011 vehicles. The number one place still belongs to GM, which sold 406,298 vehicles. The fourth place belongs to the Daimler-Chrysler group, which sold 171,965 vehicles. American Honda sold 151,804 vehicles, slightly behind Daimler-Chrysler and beating the Chrysler group alone.

What It Means:
As gas prices rise, consumers prefer fuel efficient vehicles over trucks.  Ford’s sedans -- Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr -- sold a record 19,440 in July, up 18% from June, while its truck sales declined 44%.

Toyota and Honda have been promoting their fuel efficient and hybrid vehicles, and building plants in the U.S., as part of their aggressive target marketing. Ford, on the other hand, has spent the last year discounting their vehicles because they had made too many, and are behind in developing hybrid vehicles.

Daimler-Chrysler sales may be helped in 2008, when its Mercedes Benz division introduces the ultra-efficient SmartCar to the U.S.   Popular in Europe, the SmartCar gets 60 m.p.g., and costs about $12,500.

Action Steps:
Talk to your financial advisor about decreasing funds which have U.S. auto companies, and increasing those which have Japanese. 

Source: Automotive News web site, Toyota web site, Ford Motor Co. web site, Honda Motor Co. web site