GM and Toyota nearly tied for global sales title

Update -

GM reports 9.369 billion sales to Toyota's 9.366 billion

DETROIT -- General Motors today reported global sales of 9.369 million vehicles in 2007, a total that would place it just ahead of Toyota Motor Corp.

GM said its global sales rose 3 percent from a year earlier to 9,369,524 vehicles, driven by strong growth in markets outside North America.

Toyota, which was expected to have surpassed GM as the world's largest automaker, said on Jan. 10 that it sold 9.37 million vehicles in 2007 but did not detail the figure further. A Toyota source told Reuters today the automaker finished with about 9.366 million in sales, just short of GM.

The close race might come down to how vehicles made by an obscure GM partnership in China are counted. Last year the Automotive News Data Center deducted vehicles from SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. from the GM total because SAIC is majority owner of the partnership.

GM said the 2007 results were the second-best global sales total in its

100-year history. It was the third straight year with more than 9 million vehicles sold.

Record sales overseas

" We set a record in China with more than a million vehicles sold. We nearly doubled our sales in Russia to an all-time record of more than 258,000 vehicles delivered. And we set a record in Brazil with nearly a half-million vehicles sold," John Middlebrook, GM vice president of global sales, service and marketing, said in a statement today.

" This is the kind of emerging market growth that fuels our global performance. Customers are responding to our fuel-efficient and dynamically designed product lineup around the world."

The virtual tie comes at a time when Toyota has been growing in the United States -- the world's largest market for vehicle sales -- while GM's domestic sales have been slipping. But GM has been increasing market share outside the United States, where sales accounted for 59 percent of its total.

Since 1998, GM's global sales have grown at an average annual rate of about

1.5 percent, while Toyota's growth rate has been five times that.

GM's sales in North America -- its largest market -- fell 6.1 percent in

2007. Sales in the Asia Pacific region rose 15.1 percent led by China, while sales in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East rose 19.4 percent, driven by Brazil. Sales in Europe rose 8.9 percent.

Sales outside the United States were 5.5 million units.

Too close to call

Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global product planning, said in a morning conference call with analysts and reporters that the race with Toyota is too close to call.

" We're just focused on putting our nose down and trying to do a good job, serving our customers and making the best products that we can. I don't think anyone knows -- we don't know" who won.

DiGiovanni said GM is in it to win, but it is more important to run the business profitably and not " get into trouble with too many fleet orders" and big incentive sales.

" We think we're doing the right things to remain No. 1, and we're in it for the long run," DiGiovanni said.

But GM's future growth is not in North America or Europe, he said. Growth is in Latin America, Asia, eastern Europe and developing countries. GM is focusing its growth efforts in those regions this year, while it continues to defend the traditional markets, DiGiovanni said.

" We're hitting on all cylinders across the globe," DiGiovanni said.

Product mix won't change

Globally, GM's product mix will not change much this year from 2007, DiGiovanni said. GM will remain capacity constrained in China and Brazil, but it sees growth opportunities in both regions.

In Europe, GM plans to supplement its Opel brand by adding Chevrolet products. GM's strategy to improve Saab's sales includes a new crossover concept -- the 9-4X -- that debuted at the Detroit auto show.

" Saab will have a new crossover that will help them in conquesting new customers," DiGiovanni said. " We anticipate that will do well for them worldwide. We're very optimistic about that vehicle. It's a real opportunity for them."

GM also will integrate Saab products into more GM platforms, he said. That will help lower Saab's pricing and increase content on Saab vehicles, making them more competitive.

In North America, GM's focus is on stabilizing its retail share, DiGiovanni said. The big push this year will be on the new Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu sedans to improve GM's sales in the mid-sized car category.

GM has other new products coming this year -- the Chevrolet Traverse crossover and the Pontiac G8 sedan. Those will help lift GM's U.S. sales too, he said. GM does not anticipate a big slide in U.S. truck sales.

" In the U.S. and North America, we raised our oil price forecast internally about three months ago to be more aligned with what the prices are currently," DiGiovanni said.

" So while we see some slight decline in truck sales, it's not much because they've been replaced by crossovers, which are in the truck category. When I look on balance, there'll probably be some slight increase in car growth worldwide vis-a-vis truck growth, but I wouldn't see a significant shift."

GM leaders remain optimistic that the United States will experience growth in gross domestic product in the second half of the year. That, combined with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates should help the country avoid a recession. DiGiovanni would not release GM's sales forecast for

2008.

Reuters contributed to this report

Hi!

Must not have been a good year. Although I wonder if whoever got that .37th of a vehicle got a good deal on it!

:-)

William

We call it: Toyota topped GM in 2007

DETROIT -- General Motors had a solid year in 2007, with global sales up 1.9 percent from 2006. But it is now the world's second-largest automaker.

GM slipped well behind Toyota Motor Corp. in global sales. GM sold 8,885,599 total vehicles in 2007, while Toyota says it sold an estimated 9,370,000. Toyota will issue an official total in about a month.

It was widely reported this week that the two automakers finished in a dead heat for the No. 1 spot. Here is why: GM includes in its total 516,435 vehicles of the Wuling brand in China.

But GM owns only 34 percent of the Chinese company that produces Wuling vehicles, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., a major automaker in China, owns 50.1 percent of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.

Automotive News follows industry practice by including sales of only majority-owned subsidiaries in an automaker's global total. For instance, sales of Mazda Motor Corp. are not included in Ford Motor Co.'s total because Ford owns 33.4 percent of Mazda.

So Automotive News subtracts Wuling-brand sales from GM's reported total, arriving at 8,885,599.

Just wondering:

There are a lot of reports as to how well GM is doing as far as sells in China, Europe, Russia and South America.

How are there sales in Japan????

Surely GM sells, or allowed to sell (FARELY) automoblies in Japan, just as the Japanese are allowed to do so in the US!

Surely?????????????????

So now we are down to a "numbers" game as to whom is the largest automible company???

Most every news publications I read have GM with a very narrow (maybe

3000 units sold) lead over Toyota for the year 2007.

FWIW's that gives GM the lead for one more year, anyway.

On the inevitible day that GM does lose its number one ranking in sales to Toyota, three things will happen:

1. GM workers will report to work. They will not have "gone out of business'

1. I will continue to look as to what then\ next GM product I will buy. (currently looking at the Pontiac G8, but whatever it is, it will be a couple of years away!)

2. Jim Higgins will get his rocks off in a way he has never done in his life!!!! (And, of course, announce to the world he has done do.)

When has it not been a numbers game?

wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@p69g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...

Minimal. None of the US automakers sell much in Japan, except Mazda, which is controlled by Ford, but mostly owned by the Japanese.

12,600 GM vehicles sold in Japan in '06??? ONLY 12600????? Against how many MILLION Japaneses vehicles sold in the US during the same time period?

Something doesn't seem right here.

Does Japan believe in, and more importantly, practice FREE TRADE???

That surprises you? Look at the numbers on TV's, cameras, stereo equipment, toasters, and on and on. It has nothing to do with free trade, everything to do with cost and ability. Yes, there are other factors on the automobile though, such as no room for big cars.

12,600 GM vehicles sold in Japan in '06??? ONLY 12600????? Against how many MILLION Japaneses vehicles sold in the US during the same time period?

Something doesn't seem right here.

Does Japan believe in, and more importantly, practice FREE TRADE???

********************* Some other automakers' sales in Japan in 2006:

BMW: 62,377 Daimler Chrysler: 100,718 Ford: 22,187 (of which 6,620 were Ford North American Brands and the remaining were Aston martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo- 10,693) Citroen-Peugeot: 12,684 Volkswagen including Audi & Bentley: 69,945 Total auto sales in Japan in 2006 were just over 5.7 million Total auto sales in the U.S.A. in 2006 were just over 17.1 million, or a little under triple Japan's sales.

The same automakers' sales in the U.S. in 2006: BMW:313,939 Daimler Chrysler: 2,390,585 Ford: 2,901,090 Citroen-Peugeot: none VW: 329,112

BMW and VW's market share in Japan and U.S. seem to be in roughly the same ballpark, while the Detroit 3 clearly are not.

Japan used to have a lot of hidden trade barriers, but they have been reduced in the past 10 to 15 years.

One of the Detroit 3's big obstacles to sales in Japan is they do not offer many of their North American models with right-hand drive for sale in Japan limiting their market appeal. Another obstacle is that due to the lack of space and high fuel prices, vehicles in Japan are taxed according to exterior dimensions and engine displacement. The Detroit 3's larger vehicle dimensions and engine displacement in a given market segment make them subject to higher ownership costs than the Asian and European brands, which tend to have smaller dimensions and engines than their North American competition.

Japan is a very tough market. For years the Japanese openly restricted the importation of foreign automobiles. Later when pressured by other countries, the overt restrictions were removed, but non-tariff restriction remained in place (rules and regulations, inspection procedures, etc.). These non-tariff restrictions made it difficult to export cars to Japan. Foreign countries were prohibited from setting up subsidiaries in Japan (i.e, no Ford of Japan) and foreign companies were not allowed to buy the majority of a Japanese company (Ford's 35% ownership of Mazda is about as far as you can go). Today Japan claims to have an open automobile market, but open is a relative term. There are many environmental and cultural barriers that make selling non-Japanese cars in Japan difficult. Very few Japanese are going to be interested in low and medium price vehicles built for other markets. Taxation and inspection policies make vehicles designed for the US impractical in Japan. Because of the perceived difficulty in selling non-Japanese products in Japan, few manufacturers have even bothered to try. High end performance and luxury vehicles can be sold in Japan, but only to the wealthy.

Over the years I have worked with a number of Japanese engineers on assignment in the US. One fellow I worked closely with said that in Tokyo it took him 45 minutes to drive 3 miles to work (if he drove). When he came to the US for a 2 year assignment, he bought two cars - a Honda Civic wagon for his wife to drive and a full size Ford Station Wagon that he drove (ironically, the Honda was always in the shop, the Ford never was - but his wife refused to drive the Ford because it was too big). I was always amused at the car foreign assignees would buy. They almost always bought something very big and very American.

Ed

Isn't there something also about the US car makers not making the cars RHD for the Japanese market?

Do they now make cars RHD since many have shops in Australia (Holden) and other RHD countries?

The Japanese consumers are much smarter than Americans consumers. The Japanese prefer to buy from their own manufactures, even if they cost more, to support their own economy and preserve jobs for their children and grandchildren. They only buy imported products that are generally not available from Japanese manufactures.

American complain about manufactures sending jobs off shore to save money but American consumers in their greed continue to buy from foreign manufactures to save money and send jobs off shore. If American did as the Japanese and bought from their own manufactures first we would all be better off.

In addition foreign products, particularly American products, are subjected to trade restrictions and tariffs when exporting to Japan, while our tax laws allow the Japanese to take the profit earned in the US, out of the US, federal tax free.

Japan is not refer to as "Japan Incorporated" for nothing LOL

In Europe all corporations are taxed the same without regard to the county where they are incorporated. That is one reason there are far fewer Japanese cars sold in Europe, where they do not have the tax advantage they have in the US

Actually, Toyota, Honda and other foreign manufacturers own American subsidies that pay state and federal taxes, just like other American companies.

If I am incorrect about this, please show us the evidence that I am incorrect.

shows that different countries have different tax rates.

Actually, Japan's corporate tax rate is higher than any other country.

The taxes are not on income, but rather, on profits.

And those profits are taxed at a higher rate in the US than in Europe.

Have a lovely day!

Jeff

DUH! They are indeed higher in Japan that at is WHY they do not pay US corporate income taxes on profits earned in the US. However they, like American companies that earn profit in Europe, do not have the same tax credit for taxes paid in the home country.

You are half right about the American Japanese holding companies. They do pay state and local taxes, as do domestic companies, but the do not pay any federal corporate taxes. You of course are free to do you own homework or to keep believing whatever you choose. ;)

You're welcome to believe whatever you want. Evidence has never been something that has mattered to you.

I have done *my* homework. They are US companies that state, local and federal taxes, just like any US company. Who owns them, in this case, a company in Japan, doesn't matter.

I put the links there.

Unless you can actually support your beliefs, I rest my case.

Or, to put it more accurately, you're not worth my time.

Jeff