Jun 16, 2008

GM Market Share Plummets to Less Than 20 Percent

With the country rocked by $4-a-gallon gasoline, General Motors sales reeled in May, and GM’s U.S. market share fell below 20 percent for the first time since the company was formed in 1908. Also for the first time ever, the market share of the American Big Three automakers -- GM, Ford and Chrysler -- tumbled below a combined 50 percent share.

The Japanese-brand share of the American market has crept within two points of the combined domestic manufacturer share of 44.4 percent, as calculated by the trade publication Automotive News. Largely based on their reputation for providing fuel-efficient vehicles, the Japanese brands gained 5.7 percentage points of share in just one month, while at the same time, the not-so-Big Three lost 7.4 percentage points.

May was a disastrous month for much of the auto industry, with sales down 10.7 percent to 1.4 million units. As an example of how difficult the month was, Toyota sales were down 4.3 percent, yet it still gained in overall market share. The glaring exception to the rule was Honda, which experienced both a sales increase, and of course, a significant market share gain as well. As recently as four years ago, the domestic Big Three controlled more than 60 percent of the U.S. light-vehicle market.