Auto on Info  April 2004

In the U.S. in March 2004, At the Upper End of Quality, Mazda and Nissan Sales Soar and Toyota Sales Advance; At the Opposite End of the Spectrum, General Motors and Chrysler Sales Are Mixed

Nissan, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .74, increased its U.S. auto sales by 30% in March 2004, over those of March 2003. Its truck - SUV, minivan, and pickup - sales rose 70%; its car sales rose 13%. Nissan's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are up 33%, on a daily selling rate basis.

Mazda, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .72, increased its U.S. auto sales by 37% in March 2004. Its truck sales fell 4%, but its car sales rose 63%. Mazda's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are up 25%.

Toyota, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .90, increased its U.S. auto sales by 6% in March 2004. Its truck sales rose 19%, but its car sales fell 5%. Toyota's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are up 12%.

Toyota again published more detailed information on vehicle sales. The following table provides this detailed information, together with 1995-1999 model Reliability Percentrank averages. Those models that were among February 2004's Hottest Ten, for all manufacturers, are in bold blue. That model that was in CAA's most recently published Top 10 Vehicles by ownership satisfaction is italicized.

Table I: March 2004 Toyota Sales, Percentage Changes, and 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank Averages, by Line, Type, and Model
Manufacturer	Division	Type of Vehicle	Model	Sales Volume	Percentage Increase for March 2004 from March 2003	1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank
Toyota Motor Corporation				174,209	5.5%	.90
	Scion Division			5,199	N/A	N/A
			xA	1,648	N/A	N/A
			xB	3,551	N/A	N/A
	Toyota Division			149,196	3.4%	.88
		Passenger Car		65,994	7.5%	N/A
			Prius	3,778	49.2%	N/A
		Light Truck		71,456	19.2%	N/A
			Sienna (minivan)	15,724	138.1%	.731
			Highlander (SUV)	11,311	1.1%	N/A
			4Runner (SUV)	10,018	20.2%	.92
			Sequoia (SUV)	5,036	7.8%	N/A
			Land Cruiser (SUV)	N/A	21.9%	.731
			Tundra (pickup truck)	8,671	10.5%	N/A
	Lexus Division			25,013	20.0%	.94
		Passenger Car		12,314	21.2%	N/A
			ES330	6,876	27.9%	.962
			LS430	3,010	98.4%	.972
			SC 430 (hardtop convertible)	N/A	11.4%	N/A
		Light Truck		12,699	18.8%	N/A
			RX 330 (SUV)	9,039	22.0%	.851,2
			GX 470 (SUV)	2,947	10.7%	N/A
			LX 470	N/A	15.6%	N/A
1Based on data for 2 or fewer model years
2Includes data for preceding model number
Bold blue script indicates that the model was in February 2004's Hottest Ten, for all models of all manufacturers.
Italicized script indicates that the model was in CAA's most recently published Top 10 Vehicles, by ownership satisfaction.
Italicized bold blue script indicates that the model was in both February 2004's Hottest Ten and CAA's most recently published Top 10 Vehicles by Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction.
Underscored bold blue script indicates that the model was in February 2004's Hottest Ten, for all models of all manufacturers, and is a recent Consumer Reports Quick Pick.

Sales of both the Scion xA and the Scion xB were up over those of February 2004. Toyota's new Scion division seeks to capture a greater proportion of the youth market by offering cars that are more suited to the tastes and needs of today's youth.

Honda, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .86, saw its March 2004 U.S. auto sales decline 5%. Honda's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are down 1%. Subaru, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .83, had March 2004 U.S. auto sales nearly identical to those of March 2003. Subaru's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are down 3%.

Overall, it was a third good month of sales by the auto manufacturers of quality products.

At the other end of the spectrum, General Motors, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .30, increased its U.S. auto sales by 6% in March 2004. GM's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are up 4%.

Chrysler, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .31, saw its March 2004 U.S. auto sales decline 2%. Chrysler's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are up 2%.

Ford, with a 1995-1999 Reliability Percentrank average of .51, increased its U.S. auto sales by 2% in March 2004. Ford's U.S. sales for the first three months of 2004 are down 3%.

The U.S. market shares, historical and year-to-date, together with natural market share estimates, are given in the table below.

The Big Three continue to benefit from a very high rate of recidivism; consequently, the market switch to products of higher quality proceeds glacially and the final 2004 market shares will likely be the same as the current year-to-date shares in the table above.

In the niche markets, Porsche March sales rose 23%, BMW sales rose 9%, and Mercedes-Benz sales fell 10%. The rotation out of Mercedes' U.S. made M-Class SUV, with its abysmal 1998-2000 Reliability Percentranks of .03, .15, and .02, appears to have abated.

Note: Big Three sales and market shares do not include sales of European lines - Mercedes-Benz, Saab, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover.

Source for March 2004 auto manufacturer sales data: Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2004, page B2, "Automobile Sales Statistics" and the Associated Press, April 1, 2004, "Car, Truck Sales in U.S. March 2004," accessible at Yahoo! News (No significant variations were detected in the data provided by the two sources.)

Source for detailed Toyota sales data: "Toyota Reports Best-Ever March Sales and Record-Setting First Quarter," April 1, 2004, at http://www.toyota.com/about/news/product/2004/04/01-1-sales.html

Source for Reliability Percentrank averages: AOI's Table I-MVRP

Source for Hottest Ten: "Hot Off the Lot," Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2004, p. D12

Sources for Consumer Reports Quick Picks: Consumer Reports, February 2004, p. 49 and Consumer Reports, May 2004, p. 53