By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
July 24, 2006
It wasn't too long ago that Ford and GM were arguing about who was No. 1 in sales. There's no argument anymore.
Foreign-based auto brands captured more than 50 percent of U.S. sales to consumers in the first five months of
2006 according to the latest vehicle registration data from R.L. Polk & Co.
If the trend holds up 2006 will be the first year in which foreign-based auto brands have surpassed traditional domestic brands in U.S. retail sales.
Through May, 52.9 percent of the new vehicles registered by buyers were import brands, up from 49.0 percent a year earlier.
Retail registrations of domestic brands totaled 2,554,636 through May, down 7.2 percent compared with the same period in 2005. During the same time, registrations of import brands rose 8.2 percent to 2,864,409 units.
The move up for the retail share of foreign brands is quite sharp while the downturn has hit Detroit across the board.
Lincoln and Hummer are the only domestic brands that brought in higher retail sales through May.
The six import winners were Toyota, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Porsche, Mercedes and Suzuki.
The Polk data does not include fleet registrations, which cover the sales of vehicles to corporate fleets and daily rental companies. If fleet sales are included, the Big 3 brands collectively generated 54.7 percent of total U.S. registrations through May.