US Auto Sales in January: Strong Performance for the Japanese OEMs – Except for Toyota
US auto sales fell 1.8% YoY to 1.14mil vehicles in January, as passenger car sales continued to contract (-12.2% YoY), while light trucks remained in demand (+5.7% YoY). SAAR reached 17.61 mil vehicles, above last year’s total sales level of 17.55 mil – an indication that an imminent sharp sales decline is not likely.
Among the Japanese, which all outperformed, Toyota (7203) was the odd one out, with sales falling 11.3% YoY. Toyota suffered from extremely weak passenger car demand (-17.2% YoY) – substantially weaker than Honda and Nissan – on heavy sales drops of the outgoing Camry, the Prius and the Corolla. In the mid-size crossover segment, the competition from the brand new CR-V and from the cheaper Rogue is likely to have hurt RAV4 sales, which rose by only 2.8% YoY. The launch of the new C-HR compact crossover in spring and of the Camry in spring/summer should lift volumes substantially and benefit FY17 results.
Founded in 2009, Pelham Smithers Associates (PSA) provides market intelligence on Asian technology, focusing in particular on Japan. The industries covered by our team of specialists are: consumer electronics, telecomms, pharmaceuticals, internet, electronic parts and materials, automotive technology, retail and capital goods.
PSA produces both company and sector reports. The focus of PSA’s research is to identify winners and losers as new technologies impact the top and bottom lines of corporations. Critical to our research is the clear explanation of how these new technologies work and how they impact companies and industries.
The founding partners have worked closely together for twenty years and the team has more than doubled in size since 2012.
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