By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
August 2, 2006
More U.S. consumers bought Toyotas than Fords in July making the Japanese automaker number two in U.S. sales behind General Motors for the first time.
Consumers also bought more Hondas than Chryslers, ranking American Honda behind Ford in third place.
The sales numbers underscore a buying trend generated by $3 a gallon gasoline as consumers give up on SUVs and pickups in favor of fuel efficient cars and hybrids.
Ford, GM and Chrysler have all relied on SUV and truck sales to generate profits and the July sales figures are another sign of tough times ahead for U.S. automakers.
In June, Toyota ranked behind GM and Ford, while the Chrysler group outsold American Honda.
Auto industry analysts forecast that Detroit automakers would post a big drop in U.S. sales for July and they did. GM was down 22.5 percent, Ford was down 34.3 percent, and Chrysler was down 37.4 percent.
While Detroit's numbers tanked, Toyota sales totaled 241,826 units, up 11.7 percent from July 2005. For the year to date, Toyota's U.S. sales are up 10.1 percent from the same period last year.
American Honda's U.S. sales in July totaled 151,804 units, up 6.0 percent from July 2005. The automaker's year-to-date U.S. sales are up 6.9 percent from last year to 893,031 units.
Both Honda and Toyota said their July sales this year set records for the month.
GM sold 406,298 vehicles in July and Ford sold 240,011 vehicles. Chrysler sold 171,965 but the total includes Mercedes-Benz sales.
Overall, U.S.auto sales in July totaled 1,493,329 units, down 17.4 percent from July 2005 when Detroit automakers were all offering deep discounts.
