No surprise that January was another dismal month for auto sales. But the extent of the decline surprised even gloomy analyst expectations, a sign of how large an impact poor consumer confidence is having on the troubled car business.
Chrysler LLC sales in the month fell by 55% compared to a year prior,
while General Motors Corp. saw its sales fall 49%, and Ford Motor Co.
recorded a 40% decline. Foreign rivals faired only slightly better, with Toyota Motor Corp.
down 32%, Honda Motor Co. off by 31%, and Nissan Motor Co. fell 30%.
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Part of that fall can be attributed to a
falloff in fleet sales to rental companies and other mass buyers (down
90% at Ford and 80% at GM and Chrysler), but even with those sales
backed out the retail businesses saw declines.
The numbers offer fresh evidence that 2009 is shaping up to be a terrible year for the automakers, and it could not come at a worse time. With General Motors and Chrysler scrambling to get revitalization plans to Washington in hopes of justifying future bridge loans and Ford hopeful of avoiding having to take the same path, the carmakers appear unlikely to get any short-term cash infusion in the form of a sales spike. And even the best turnaround plan is destined to fail if no one is there to buy the vehicles. -
Lou Whiteman
