United States Autos Report Q4 2010: New research report available at Fast Market Research

Oct. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- US new vehicle sales in August fell to their lowest levels since August 1983, bringing the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) down in line with BMI's consistently maintained full-year forecast of 10.8mn units. While the 'cash for clunkers' scrappage scheme of August 2009 created an artificial spike in sales, which will naturally distort year-on-year (y-o-y) comparisons, a look back to July shows that the deceleration in sales growth that we expected in H210, related to overall slower economic growth, is playing out. Overall vehicle sales were down 5% in August compared with the 1,049,101 units sold in July, which itself was a temporary recovery from the 983,821 units sold in June when carmakers began to post their smallest gains of the year.

On a year-to-date basis, total vehicle sales are still 8.4% higher y-o-y, which means the market is still not close to a total collapse. On the whole, we are happy to stick with our full-year forecast. As GDP data for Q210 shows that the slowdown is playing out, as growth has fallen from 5.0% in Q409 to 3.7% in Q110 and down to 2.4% last quarter, with a further slowdown expected in 2011, we will maintain our vehicle sales growth forecast of 3.2% this year, followed by 2.3% in 2011.

The underlying strength of the US market and its positive attitude towards foreign investment see it retain first place in BMI's Business Environment Ratings for the auto industry in the Americas. Although it does not have the growth potential of some of the Latin American markets, it does have a strong regulatory framework and fewer limits on potential returns. The country also scores highly for its regulatory environment, reflecting trade agreements such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In terms of the competitive landscape, the comparison with last year's incentive-fuelled results shows the companies that fared best under the 'clunkers' scheme, posting some of the worst results in August 2010. The programme's biggest winner, Toyota Motor, which claimed 19.4% of all trade-in sales, saw its sales for August 2010 fall by 34%. Ford Motor, which achieved 17% growth last year, posted a 14% y-o-y drop in August. In contrast, Chrysler, which gained little advantage from the scrappage scheme, registered 7% growth y-o-y in August. The positions for the eight months to August have changed little, however, with General Motors Company retaining the lead with a market share of 19.1%, followed by Ford with 17.1.

For more information or to purchase this report, go to:
-  http://www.fastmr.com/prod/87314_united_states_autos_repo...

Report Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
- US Auto SWOT
- Political SWOT Analysis
- Economic SWOT Analysis
- Business Environment SWOT Analysis
Market Overview
- Industry Developments
Industry Business Environment Overview
- Business Environment Ratings
- Table: Latin America Auto Business Environment Ratings
- Regional Leaders
- The Underperformers
- Reining Developed States
Industry Forecast Scenario
- Production And Sales
- Table: US Auto Sector - Historical Data And Forecasts
Macroeconomic Scenario
- Table: United States - Economic Activity
Competitive Landscape
- Table: US - Top 10 New Vehicle Sales, 2008 And 2009 (CBUs)
- Table: US - Top 10 New Vehicle Sales, Jan-Aug (CBUs)
- Table: North American Light Vehicle Output 2009 (CBUs)
Industry Developments
- M&A Activity
- Emission Standards
- Company Developments
- Toyota's Iran Withdrawal: More About Protecting US Business?
- Alternative Partnerships
- Volt v Leaf
- Suppliers
- Table: US - Top Automotive Suppliers (US$mn)
- Table: Nexteer Automotive Global Facilities
Company Profiles
- Chrysler
- BMI Methodology
- How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts
- Sources

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.