Ford Motor Co overtook General Motors (GM) for the lead in US sales on Tuesday as Toyota faltered amid a series of mass recalls and congressional investigations into its safety standards.
Ford appeared to have capitalized on Toyota’s woes as its US sales last month jumped 43 percent to 142,285 vehicles, overtaking GM, which sold 141,951. It was the first time Ford had surpassed GM in monthly sales since the top US automaker’s sales were hit by a strike at a key supplier in 1998.
Competition was set to be fierce this month as automakers sought to match the zero percent financing incentives Toyota offered wary customers.
Toyota reported an 8.7 percent drop in US sales last month to 100,027 vehicles, while its market share slipped 3.1 points to 12.8 percent, research firm Autodata said.
Overall industry sales rose 13 percent to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 10.38 million units from depressed year-ago levels, Autodata said.
A series of massive snowstorms was blamed for dampening sales last month, which were down from the 10.78 million unit rate posted in January.
Ford’s market share including its Volvo unit rose 3.8 points sales to 18.2 percent while GM’s share was down 0.1 points at 18.1 percent, Autodata said.
“The strength of our new products and Ford’s leadership in quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value are resonating with customers,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president for US marketing, sales and service.
GM, which posted an 11.5 percent gain from February last year, expressed satisfaction with its performance. While GM welcomed the opportunity to introduce its products to new customers, it attributed the bulk of its gains to the success of its restructuring plan and a solid lineup at its four “core” brands.
Sales at Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac rose 32.2 percent last month to 138,849 while total sales including brands being wound down rose to 141,951 vehicles for the same month from 127,296 a year earlier.
Chrysler’s US sales rose by one vehicle to 84,449 units from a year earlier but were nonetheless 48 percent higher than the dismal results it posted in January. Its market share slipped 1.4 points to 10.8 percent, Autodata said.
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