Once-dominant GM left eating dust

REUTERS FILE PHOTO

GM's share of the consumer car market has plunged by almost half since 2005.

Tony Van Alphen

BUSINESS REPORTER

Canada's consumer car market is changing dramatically as Toyota and Honda pull away from long-time leader General Motors, whose share excluding fleet business has now plunged by almost half since 2005.

Meanwhile, Ford and Chrysler, the other two Big Three North American-based automakers, have fallen out of the top five passenger-car sellers to consumers in the country this year, according to statistics from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

Chrysler, which held 7.8 per cent of the car market in 2005, has slid to less than 3 per cent and dropped to 10th place behind Mazda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai and even its South Korean cousin, Kia, during the first six months of this year.

However, GM, Ford and Chrysler continue to dominate the consumer truck market despite gains by Toyota and Honda in the last decade.

Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, which compiled and analyzed the statistics, called the changes in the retail car market "shocking."

"Nowhere is the problems of the Detroit-based auto manufacturers more evident than with their sales of passenger cars to consumers," he said in a note to clients yesterday.

DesRosiers added the slide means serious problems for those manufacturers because the market is shifting back to cars from trucks and sport utility vehicles as fuel costs rise and environmental concerns become a bigger public issue.

"The lack of passenger car volume has to worry these companies," he said. "When an original equipment manufacturer (automaker) loses the consumer, they are in real trouble."

Toyota, including its luxury Lexus brand, roared passed sputtering GM in 2008 in the car market and has increased the lead. Honda, including the Acura luxury division, moved into second place in the first half of this year.

The two Japanese companies are ahead of GM with 16.4 per cent and 14.6 per cent market share, respectively, despite losing some retail business to other smaller players.

But GM's retail car business has tumbled far more. Since 2005, its share has slid to 12.1 per cent from 23.1 per cent. In 2000, it held more than 27 per cent.

GM's car sales, excluding fleet business to companies and governments, fell to 135,154 in 2008 from 168,055 in 2005, the DesRosiers statistics showed. Toyota's retail car business jumped to 145,151 from 118,761 in the same period.

DesRosiers said his firm's figures for the pure retail car market provides a more accurate picture of the performance of automakers, because the inclusion of fleet sales can distort it since that business can involve unloading big volumes of under-selling cars at losses.

The statistics revealed that Hyundai's share of the consumer car market jumped to 11.3 per cent in the first half from 6.9 per cent in 2008, while Mazda improved to 9.6 per cent from 8.5 per cent.

Hyundai does not break out fleet sales in its car numbers but insiders say it represents only a tiny percentage of the company's business. Other automakers say they are also relying less on fleet sales to drive business.

On the truck side, including minivans and sport utilitiy vehicles, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler still hold about 60 per cent of the market, but that is down from almost 80 per cent at the beginning of the decade.

Overall, GM has retained its title as the leading retailer to consumers with 16.7 per cent of the car and truck market, but that's off substantially from 28.5 per cent in 2000.

Toyota holds 14.4 per cent, up from 8.8 per cent in the same period while Ford has 12.7 per cent, a drop from 16 per cent in 2000.

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