Toyota Overtakes GM as Bestselling Auto Maker in U.S.
Toyota Motor Corp. has for the first time overtaken General Motors as the U.S.’s top-selling car company by annual sales, a change prompted largely by a global computer-chip shortage that dealt an uneven blow to the car business. The Japanese auto maker, which for decades has worked to expand its presence in the U.S., outsold GM by roughly 114,000 vehicles in 2021. Toyota’s total U.S. sales of 2.3 million rose about 10 percent compared with 2020, the company said Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyota has largely benefited from its decision to stockpile computer chips, which are used in an array of vehicle electronics. It bet earlier than most other auto makers on a recovering U.S. car market and cut parts and production orders less sharply than rivals, making it better prepared for an eventual surge in consumer demand. While Toyota executives say they were successful in navigating some of last year’s supply-chain constraints, they don’t view the lead over GM as a permanent shift in the industry’s closely watched sales rankings. For the full story, click here.
Schedule Change Improves Culture, Retention
Fred Anderson Toyota of Sanford in North Carolina changed its schedule to give sales staff two days off in a row and also disbanded its business development center — all in an attempt to change the store's culture and performance. The move has worked, General Manager Greg Davison said. "I wanted to create a culture change that allowed salespeople to make a great living as well as enjoy their earnings," Davison told Automotive News in an email. In addition to better retention, the dealership, which is open on Sundays, has benefited by attracting new hires who want better hours than many dealerships offer, Davison said. He estimated that Fred Anderson Toyota's sales staff retention rate for the past year improved to 58 percent, a number that includes two people who stayed at the dealership but were promoted to different roles. Davison said sales reps, when they return from their two-day breaks, want to know about fellow staffers' sales performance. "It's raised the whole level of competitiveness," he said. For more on how Toyota of Sanford makes it work, click here.
Average Used-Car Price Nears $30,000, Squeezing Lower-Income Buyers
The average price of a used vehicle in the United States in November, according to Edmunds.com, was $29,011 – a dizzying 39 percent more than just 12 months earlier. And for the first time that anyone can recall, more than half of America’s households have less income than is considered necessary to buy the average-priced used vehicle. According to the Detroit News, the days when just about anyone with a steady income could wander onto an auto lot and snag a reliable late-model car have essentially vanished. “I’ve never seen anything remotely close to this – it’s craziness,” said Jeff Schrier who operates a used car lot in Omaha, Nebraska. “It’s quite frustrating for so many people right now.” When the government reported that consumer inflation rocketed 6.8 percent in the 12 months that ended in November – the sharpest jump in nearly 40 years – the biggest factor, apart from energy, was used vehicles. And while the rate of increase is slowing, most experts say the inflated vehicle prices aren’t likely to ease for the foreseeable future. For more on how that phenomenon is impacting consumers and retailers, click here.
Sony Looks to Electric Cars for Its Next Big Hit
Japan's Sony Group plans to launch a company this spring to examine entering the electric vehicle market, looking to harness its strengths in entertainment and sensors to play a bigger role in next-generation mobility. The new company, Sony Mobility Inc, comes as the Japanese tech giant is "exploring a commercial launch" of electric vehicles, Sony chairman and president Kenichiro Yoshida told a news conference, speaking ahead of the CES technology trade fair in the United States. "With our imaging and sensing, cloud, 5G and entertainment technologies combined with our contents mastery, we believe Sony is well positioned as a creative entertainment company to redefine mobility," he said. Although its once-dominant position in consumer electronics has been eroded by Asian rivals like Samsung, Reuters reports that Sony still has an arsenal of sophisticated technology in areas such as sensors critical to autonomous driving. It also remains one of the world's biggest entertainment companies, home to prominent video game and movie franchises. Audio and entertainment systems are increasingly a focus for next-generation vehicles. For more on Sony’s plans, click here.
December U.S. auto sales: Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia slide again; GM skids 43% in Q4
Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Hyundai and Kia posted lower U.S. sales in December for the fifth straight month, with tight inventories stemming from supply chain disruptions dealing a final blow as the auto industry closed out 2021 on a down note. According to Automotive News, General Motors reported a 43 percent decline in fourth-quarter sales, with volume off 45 percent at Chevrolet, 38 percent at GMC, 35 percent at Buick, and 48 percent at Cadillac. Nissan Motor Co.'s fourth-quarter deliveries dropped 20 percent, with the Nissan division down 17 percent and Infiniti off 47 percent. Toyota Motor, even with double-digit volume declines in recent months, surpassed GM, the market leader for decades dating to the Great Depression, in U.S. sales by nearly 130,000 units in 2021. Toyota said it ended December with a 20-day supply of vehicles, or 125,423 cars and light trucks in stock, most of which — 106,296 units — is at ports or in transit. Monthly retail stockpiles continue to improve and were tracking at just more than 1 million for the first time since July. For more sales results, click here.
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