March 2007 U.s. Auto Sales Increased

After the selling days for the month of March closed and car manufacturers posted their sales figures, the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) recently announced the total auto sales in the United States for the month of March.

The association of car manufacturers reported that U.S. car sales for the said month increased by 0.8 percent as compared to March of last year. Last month, 1,542,229 new cars have been sold in the United States alone. The said figure is the total sales output of the Big Three and other international car manufacturers doing business in the United States.

Breaking down the figure between U.S. based car manufacturers and international brands, AIADA reported that the international brands are closing in on the Big Three in terms of the U.S. auto market share. Collectively, international brands posted an 8.8 percent increase in sales compared to their total sales for the month of March in 2006.

Currently, the U.S. car manufacturers still control the majority of the U.S. market with 51.6 percent under their belt. Meanwhile, international brands continue their surge by taking 48.4 percent of the U.S. auto market. If the current trend continues, international brands will be on their way to take the majority of the U.S. auto market just like what experts in the industry has projected.

The U.S. auto market is still being dominated by General Motors which is currently the largest car manufacturer in the world. The Michigan based automaker grabbed 22 percent of the U.S. auto market last month. Last year, the Detroit auto giant controlled 23.3 percent of the market. Following General Motors on the leader board is fellow Michigan based Ford Motor Company. The outfit headed by Alan Mulally takes hold of 16 percent of the U.S. auto market.

Close behind FoMoCo is the surging Toyota which now has 15.7 percent of the U.S. auto market. It can be remembered that experts in the auto industry expects the Toyota Motor Corporation to overtake Ford in the U.S. before the end of this year. And by looking at the current market shares of Ford and Toyota it would seem that their prediction will come true and not even a high quality brake from Active Brakes Direct can stop the Japanese brand.

Behind General Motors, FoMoCo, and Toyota is the troubled Chrysler Group. The member of the Big Three takes control of 13.4 percent of the U.S. auto market. The car manufacturer can be remembered to have announced the closing of plants and reducing their workforce. Those steps can lead to further shrinking of their U.S. auto market share. If the Chrysler Group continues their downward slide, it would only be a matter of time before another Asian brand overtakes them.

Honda sits behind Chrysler in the leader board with 9.3 percent of the U.S. auto market. Honda's rivalry with Toyota can further increase their sales output as they come up with more and more popular models. Another Asian brand follows Honda in the leader board and it is Nissan, the counterpart of Chrysler in the Japanese auto market now has 7.2 percent of the U.S. auto market for the month of March.