Record Month Expected For May, Except For GM And Ford. Toyota Could Double Its Sales

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: May 23rd, 2012

record month expected for may except for gm and ford toyota could double its sales

When new car sales will be announced on June 1, sales could be up by 30 percent, thinks Kelley Blue Book. When sales approach 1.4 million units, or 14.2 million seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) in May, Kelley expects GM and Ford to underperform the market, while Toyota could nearly double its sales and surpass Ford in market share.

These projections are based on real time sales data, but they remain projections until the real and hopefully true data come in. One of the reasons for the big jump are two additional selling days in May, and a strong Memorial day weekend.

Sales and market share projections, May 2012, Kelley Blue Book

Sales VolumeMarket ShareManufacturerMay ’12May ’11YOY%May ’12May ’11YOYGeneral Motors245,284221,19210.90%17.80%20.80%-3.00%Toyota Motor Co210,834108,38794.50%15.30%10.20%5.10%Ford Motor Co209,456191,5299.40%15.20%18.00%-2.80%Chrysler Group161,226115,36339.80%11.70%10.90%0.80%American Honda139,17890,77353.30%10.10%8.50%1.60%Hyundai Kia124,020107,42615.40%9.00%10.10%-1.10%Nissan NA96,46076,14826.70%7.00%7.20%-0.20%VW52,36440,78328.40%3.80%3.80%0.00%Total1,378,000*1,061,84129.80%–––

Toyota and Honda are expected to be up strongly. In May last year, inventory shortages from the earthquake in Japan became a factor. In May 2011, Toyota was down 33 percent, Honda 23 percent. Both are back with a vengeance. Kelley sees Toyota nearly double its May 2011 sales, and expects Honda sales to rise by more than 50 percent.

While GM and Ford are expected to underperform the market with a sales gain around 10 percent, Chrysler is seen continuing its race to the top with a plus of nearly 40 percent.

General Motors, Ford and (surprise) Hyundai are expected to lose market share. Toyota is seen gaining 5 percent of share.

#BertelSchmitt #May2012 #Sales

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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Chicagoland on May 23, 2012

Dont brag too much about Toyota's current % increases, they of course will look good since last year something called a 'tsunami' occured.

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Unhittable curveball on May 26, 2012

The beast of Nagoya is back as the 800 pound gorilla :)

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