Japanese OEMs' performance and product plans in North America

Toyota introduces derivative models of Prius, Honda large/midsize PHEV, and Nissan Leaf EV

2011/02/01

Summary
Toyota to add three derivative models of Prius in 2011-2012
Honda to introduce midsize and large PHEVs and Fit EV in 2012
Nissan to step up introduction of Leaf EV and to transfer production of Rogue midsize SUV to the US
Fuji Heavy Industries enjoys strong sales of New Forester and New Legacy/Outback, boosting its production capacity by 30% in North America
Mazda to introduce a next-generation fuel efficient SKY-G gasoline engine in North America in 2011
Mitsubishi plans to turn around its slumping business in North America through introduction of EVs and compact cars
Suzuki, revamping its product plan through its alliance with VW, has postponed its introduction of New Swift in North America until 2011 or later

Summary

In the US, the 2010 sales of light vehicles were 11.59 million, up 11.1% from 2009. As the demand for models including pickup trucks, which shrank due to recession, has gradually recovered, sales of light trucks and passenger cars increased by 18.2% and 5.2%, respectively, from 2009.

The three US OEMs sold 5.261 million, up 12.4％, recovering their share of the market by 0.5 percentage points to 45.4%. On the other hand, seven Japanese OEMs increased their sales by 6.4% to 4.476 million, but lost their share of the market by 1.7 percentage points to 38.6%.

Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki decreased their market share while Nissan and Subaru increased their share of the market. The market share of Mazda and Mitsubishi remain unchanged from 2009.

The following report outlines the business performance and product plans of Japanese OEMs in North America, where the economy is gradually recovering. Most of these Japanese OEMs have introduced green vehicles including HEV, PHEV, and EV. In addition, Toyota launches Lexus CT200h in the entry-luxury segment; Honda introduces a compact car under Acura brand. Mazda and Mitsubishi launch a compact crossover, CX-5 and Outlander Sport, respectively, while Nissan transfers production of the Rogue midsize SUV to North America.

Sales of new light vehicles in the US by manufacturer

(units)

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2009/2010	Market share
	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2009/2010	2009	2010
GM	4,065,341	3,822,611	2,954,819	2,071,749	2,211,699	6.8%	19.9%	19.1%
Ford	2,901,090	2,559,259	2,002,279	1,677,234	1,964,059	17.1%	16.1%	16.9%
Chrysler	2,142,505	2,076,650	1,453,122	931,402	1,085,211	16.5%	8.9%	9.4%
Detroit 3	9,108,936	8,458,520	6,410,220	4,680,385	5,260,969	12.4%	44.9%	45.4%
Toyota	2,542,525	2,620,825	2,217,660	1,770,147	1,763,595	-0.4%	17.0%	15.2%
Honda	1,509,358	1,551,542	1,428,765	1,150,784	1,230,480	6.9%	11.0%	10.6%
Nissan	1,019,249	1,068,237	951,350	770,103	908,570	18.0%	7.4%	7.8%
Fuji Heavy Industries	200,703	187,208	187,699	216,652	263,820	21.8%	2.1%	2.3%
Mazda	268,786	295,737	263,949	207,767	229,566	10.5%	2.0%	2.0%
Mitsubishi	118,558	128,993	97,257	53,986	55,683	3.1%	0.5%	0.5%
Suzuki	100,990	101,884	84,862	38,695	23,994	-38.0%	0.4%	0.2%
Isuzu	8,614	7,098	4,758	165	-		0.0%
Total Japan	5,768,783	5,961,524	5,236,300	4,208,134	4,475,708	6.4%	40.3%	38.6%
Hyundai	749,822	772,482	675,139	735,127	894,496	21.7%	7.0%	7.7%
Total Europe	932,084	961,538	924,059	807,699	959,101	18.7%	7.7%	8.3%
TOTAL	16,559,625	16,154,064	13,245,718	10,431,345	11,590,274	11.1%	100.0%	100.0%

Source: Automotive News 2011.1.4
(Note) 1.	GM includes Saab vehicles until February 2010 (Saab was sold to Spyker Cars on February 23, 2010).
2.	Ford includes Volvo vehicles until July 2010 (Volvo was sold to China-based Geely Holding Group on August 2, 2010).
3.	European OEMs include Mercedes-Benz vehicles during the DaimlerChrysler period and vehicles of Jaguar and Land Rover, which are under the umbrella of Tata motors. In addition, they include Saab vehicles in March 2010 and later, and Volvo vehicles in August 2010 and later.