Toyota's new models grab more US share

LOS ANGELES - Toyota increased US sales by 6.9 per cent in March to a record, as Asian brands took market share from General Motors and Ford.

The Toyota City, Japan-based company's sales gain raised its market share in March to 14.2 per cent, from 12.9 per cent a year ago.

It began selling cars in the US in 1957 and is now fourth in US sales behind General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit.

Asian car-makers' US market share rose to 38.1 per cent, while the combined share of GM, Ford and Chrysler fell to 56.6 per cent, according to Bloomberg data.

Sales rose for Hyundai and Honda while Nissan's declined, the companies said.

Toyota, the world's second-largest carmaker, introduced a redesigned Camry sedan, the new Yaris compact car and a version of the RAV4 sport-utility vehicle that burns less fuel than Ford's Explorer. Those models and Honda's Civic compact car are meeting buyers' demand for smaller fuel-efficient vehicles, said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with auto-data service Edmunds.com.

"Toyota has the right product, right image, and right distribution system," said Toprak, based in Santa Monica, California. "The consumer mindset has permanently changed already because of the prolonged nature of high gas prices."

Asian car-makers' eighth consecutive month of increasing market shares add to the woes of GM, which is trimming jobs, cutting production and stopping dividends to improve earnings from last year's US$10.6 billion ($17.5 billion) loss.

Ford announced a plan on January 12 to cut 30,000 jobs, the company's second restructuring to halt a 10-year slide in US market share.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the US was US$2.582 on April 3, 46c higher than a year ago, according to automotive service AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

US consumers are placing a higher priority on fuel economy, which is also helping sales of models such as the Toyota Corolla and Scion xA small cars, Jim Press, president of the company's US sales unit, said this week.

"There's a continuing interest in gas mileage," Press said. "I don't think that's temporary. It's a long-term trend."

GM and Ford reported March sales declines of 14 per cent and 4.6 per cent as they tried to rely less on fleet buyers such as rental agencies.

DaimlerChrysler's sales of Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz vehicles rose 2.9 per cent for the month.

US vehicle sales fell 2.9 per cent to 1.53 million units last month, according to data by Bloomberg and Autodata Corp.

The month's biggest declines came from Mitsubishi Motors with a 31 per cent sales drop to 10,250, and from Japanese truck maker Isuzu Motors, which reported selling just 947 pickups and SUVs, down 33 per cent from a year ago.

- BLOOMBERG