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Japan carmakers sales lofty
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January 4, 2000: 5:10 p.m. ET
Two leading automakers’ U.S. sales strong for year, but December weak
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Japan's two leading automakers had record U.S. sales last year and the Toyota Camry was the best selling car in the country for the third straight year.
But despite strong sales for the year, the December numbers for the Japanese automakers were a bit weaker than expected; suggesting to some that recent incentives are helping rival U.S. automakers gain back some of their lost market share.
"Every single month the Japanese and European manufacturers have seen better year-over-year gains than the U.S. car makers," said Rod Lache, analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. "I know the U.S manufacturers have ramped up incentives in December. These numbers don't mean much until you have a basis of comparison. We need to see the GM and Ford numbers tomorrow."
Sales of Toyota Motor Sales USA, which includes both the Toyota and the Lexus divisions, for 1999 were up 8.4 percent to 1.5 million vehicles; making it the fourth straight U.S. sales record for Japan's leading carmaker. The company sold 448,162 models of the popular Camry sedan, a 4.3 percent increase, with almost three-quarters of those cars made in the United States
Photo source: Toyota Motor Sales USA
Camry again was the most popular vehicle sold in the United States, the third straight year it grabbed the honor.
"No one could have predicted such a monster year, nor anticipated the sustained strength of consumer confidence that fueled the economy," said Jim Press, executive vice president for the U.S. division. "Every indicator points to a leveling-off in early 2000. But, of course, that's what we all said last year."
But Toyota’s December sales fell 12 percent from the year-ago period to 122,020 cars and trucks during the period.
Honda compact car sales down
American Honda’s sales rose 6.7 percent to 1.08 million vehicles in the year. Its Odyssey minivan was a particularly hot seller, with sales rising 274 percent to 77,801 vehicles during the year. That helped it overcome declining sales in some of the core compact-car models, such as the Accord sedan, which had a 15 percent drop in sales to 316,339. The company's light truck and sport/utility vehicle sales as well as the luxury Acura division had strong gains. "It may be tough for the industry to top 1999, but for right now we're just going to enjoy it," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. "Light trucks were the driving force behind the market growth last year. We expect more of the same this year and we're ready for continued growth with the introduction of our new Acura SUV this fall."
In December, Honda had a 6.2 percent gain to 89,172 vehicles sold, as the strong gains in trucks overcame a 6.5 percent drop in car sales compared with December 1998.
Gains at smaller automakers too
Other smaller foreign carmakers also reported strong sales Tuesday.
The No. 3 Japanese automaker Nissan North America saw sales rise 9 percent to 677,212 cars and trucks in its Nissan and luxury Infiniti nameplates. Car sales fell 4.8 percent to 350,033, but that drop was outweighed by a 33.9 percent rise in truck sales to 254,542.
Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Inc. also set a company record with 190,515 vehicles sold, a 37.1 percent increase over 1998.
Among European manufacturers reporting U.S. sales Tuesday, Saab Cars USA saw its best year since 1987 with 39,541 cars sold, an increase of 29 percent for the Swedish automaker. And Land Rover North America Inc. reported sales of 29,380 vehicles, another record, and a 37.1 percent increase.
The American Depository Receipts of the three-largest Japanese carmakers fell in trading in New York Tuesday. Toyota's ADRs (TM) were off 4-1/2 to 92-5/8 at the 4 p.m. close, while Honda's ADRs (HMC) fell 1-1/2 to 74-3/16. Nissan, which is 37 percent owned by French carmaker Renault, saw its ADRs (NSANY) fall 1/16 to 7-7/8. 
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