Imported Cars Set To Take Over US Market

Anthony Fontanelle
February 9, 2007

Imported cars are making waves in the US market, thanks to their fuel efficiency and competitive prices. This year, major Asian car manufacturers posted a jump in their January sales. The Toyota Motor Corporation seems to be setting the pace by breaking its sales record for the said month.

The influx of imported cars in the United States is felt so much by the three biggest car manufacturers based in the country. General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler this January only managed to get a little more than a half of the market share for the mentioned month. In contrast, the demand for imported cars, most notably Japanese ones, is continually growing. This is evident in the 49.4 percent share in the US market of all overseas car manufacturers combined.

The American International Automobile Dealers Association recently released a newsletter that predicted that total sales of all imported cars will amount to more than fifty percent of total sales in the market. The forecast, as stated by the industry’s experts, reported that as soon as March of this year, the Big Three will lose their grip on the major part of the market. One of the main reasons for the prediction comes from the high anticipation of the public for the redesigned Honda Accord. The release of the Toyota Tundra is creating so much hype in the motoring public that it, too, will play a big role in the taking over of import cars of the US market.

While that may be the case, the difference between domestic and overseas car brands is getting smaller. This is due to the fact that auto manufacturers based in the United States produce cars from their plants located in other countries. Meanwhile, Asian car manufacturers have also their plants located in the United States and from there, they can produce the cars that will be sold in the country. As a matter of fact, Asian car manufacturers combined to sell four million vehicles in the US last year and these were all assembled in North American plants. Such is the trend now in the automobile industry therefore expanding the market globally for all car manufacturers.

The report comes on the heels of sales reports posted by different car manufacturers. Toyota has set a new sales record for the month of January with a jump of 9.5 percent over their January 2006 sales output. Honda also sold 100,790 vehicles for the first month this year which is their best ever performance for that period.

While Japanese car companies are racking up huge sales and besting their January 2006 outputs, General Motors and Ford has seen their sales slide from last year’s figures. General Motors posted a drop of 16.6 percent while Ford sales fell 19 percent from January of 2006. With the success that Toyota is enjoying, the carmaker is set to take over the spot of Ford Motor Company as the second largest car manufacturer in the world. If the current trend continues, Toyota will surpass even General Motors in the leader board. Also, it does seem like increased sales from Honda will help overseas car manufacturers take over the US market. The demand for fuel efficient vehicles are being addressed by these companies hence the continued demand for their cars. Indeed the climb to the top of Asian car makers seems unstoppable and may take an EBC brake rotor and a high quality brake caliper to halt their momentum. But one thing is clear about this, the consumers are the biggest winners in the said scenario, their demand for high quality vehicles is being answered by different car manufacturers whether they are based in the United States or in any other country.

Source: Amazines.com