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Thursday, June 02, 2005

Boycott metrics

Posted by: Hammer / 10:57 AM

The AFA is boycotting Ford. They picked a good time to kick a company while it's down:

GM saw US sales in May fall by 5.5% on the same month a year earlier, while Ford's dropped by 3%.

By contrast, Nissan saw its US sales rise by 15.5% in May, while Toyota gained 7.8% and Hyundai/Kia almost 9%.

The US firms' focus on sports utility vehicles (SUVs) has caused them trouble in the face of sky-high fuel prices....

May's fall in sales was the 12th straight decline for Ford and the fourth in a row for GM.

Boy, it's too bad there's no historical precedent for domestic automakers losing market share to smaller, more efficient imports during a period of high gas prices...

2 Comments:

Heh. "Boycott metrics." Pure comedy gold.

Anyway, the focus on SUVs per se may not be the problem for American automakers. Truck sales (which include SUVs) from Asian manufacturers are up 6.9%. Preferences may be shifting from big, stupid American vehicles to big, stupid foreign ones.

I'd like to believe that Ford's introduction of a hybrid SUV would have a significant impact in the market. Maybe more people will start thinking about environmental impact and foreign oil dependence. I know one guy who just bought a hybrid Ford Escape, but an appeal to his pocketbook had nothing to do with it. For one thing, he has an enormous pocketbook; he also won't put on enough miles to make up the initial cost difference. I think he bought it to please some of the greener members of his family.

By Joseph Thvedt, at 2:03 PM