Honda Passes Chrysler as Asia Brands Widen U.S. Share (Update1)

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Honda Passes Chrysler as Asia Brands Widen U.S. Share (Update1)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agUdhAPT2KEY&refer=home

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. passed Chrysler LLC in August
to grab fourth place in U.S. sales this year as cars won market share
from trucks amid an industrywide slump,

Asia-based brands led by Nissan Motor Co.'s 14 percent gain raised their
share of August U.S. sales to 47.3 percent, beating General Motors
Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler for a fourth month, research firm
Autodata Corp. said yesterday. While Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda fell,
they dropped less than the U.S trio.

Tokyo-based Honda may keep the No. 4 spot as a sluggish economy and fuel
prices crimp demand for the light trucks that make up more than half of
Chrysler's volume. Honda's 2008 U.S. sales are up 1.7 percent, while
Chrysler's are down 24 percent.

``Honda and Nissan will likely be the only big automakers that post
positive numbers in the U.S. for the calendar year,'' said Jesse Toprak,
director of industry analysis for automotive research firm Edmunds.com
in Santa Monica, California. ``In this kind of economy, with
double-digit sales declines for the industry, any kind of gain is a good
one.''

U.S. auto sales slid for a 10th straight month, pushing the industry
toward its lowest annual total since the early 1990s. The 15 percent
tumble included a 22 percent drop for light trucks, according to
Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata.

Japanese, Korean Brands

Japanese and South Korean automakers, which are more focused on cars,
slid only 5.1 percent from a year earlier as they sold a combined
591,260 vehicles last month. Their U.S. market share was 42.2 percent in
August 2007.

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, sold 1.083 million autos in the
U.S. through August, compared with 1.076 million for Auburn Hills,
Michigan-based Chrysler. Honda has increased annual U.S. sales every
year since 1994, the longest streak of any of the big automakers.

Chrysler held a 352,704-unit lead in August 2007, when it was acquired
by Cerberus Capital Management LP. Toyota took the No. 3 spot from
Chrysler in 2006, then passed Ford last year. Detroit-based GM leads in
U.S. sales.

Nissan's 14-percent sales gain was its fifth advance this year and the
only one among the six biggest automakers in the U.S. in August. Its
increase was led by the revamped Maxima sedan and new Rogue crossover,
general manager of Nissan brand sales Al Castignetti said in a telephone
interview yesterday.

``There's no change in the move to smaller, more fuel- efficient
models,'' he said.

Nissan's increase boosted its market share to 8.7 percent last month, a
2.2-point improvement, according to Autodata. Nissan is sixth in the
U.S. by sales volume.

Gasoline Prices

U.S. gasoline prices declined from the $4.11-a-gallon record set July
15, leading some analysts to predict consumers would consider big trucks
again. The average price at U.S. pumps in August was $3.76, according to
motorist group AAA.

``We did see some increased traffic levels at dealerships for some
trucks due to the easing of gas prices,'' Castignetti said.

Toyota sold 211,533 vehicles, down 9.4 percent. Declines for the Toyota
City, Japan-based company were led by Avalon large sedans, RAV4 compact
sport-utility vehicles and larger FJ Cruiser and 4Runner SUVs.

Prius, Corollas

Limited inventory of models including Prius hybrids and Corolla small
cars damped August results, as did the replacement of the RAV4 with a
2009 version, Irv Miller, group vice president of Toyota's U.S. sales
unit, said in a conference call.

Still, Toyota's market share improved to 16.9 percent, up from 15.8
percent, and it outsold Ford by a record 55,843 vehicles.

Honda sold 146,855 Honda and Acura brand vehicles, down 7.3 percent. The
slide reflected a shortage of Fit subcompacts as the company switched
over to a revamped model, spokesman Chris Martin said in an interview.
Honda's market share was 11.8 percent, up from 10.7 percent.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker and No. 7 in the
U.S., sold 41,130 vehicles, down 8.8 percent. Lower sales of Santa Fe
and Tucson SUVs paced the slide as the Seoul- based company finished its
first month of sales for the Genesis luxury sedan, selling 1,177 of the
cars.

Toyota rose 90 yen, or 1.9 percent, to 4,940 at 9:33 a.m. in Tokyo Stock
Exchange trading. Honda rose 4.3 percent to 3,680 yen in Tokyo and
Nissan rose 1.3 percent to 848 yen. Hyundai Motor fell 0.7 percent to
70,600 won in trading in Seoul.

Kia Motors Corp., a Hyundai affiliate, reported sales of 25,065
vehicles, down 6.7 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., a third owned by Ford,
sold 23,600 autos, 4.4 percent fewer than a year ago.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru, a Toyota affiliate, matched Nissan
by raising its sales 14 percent to 18,932 on a jump in sales for its new
Forester SUV and Impreza cars and wagons.

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. reported a 29 percent sales decline to
9,200 units, and Suzuki Motor Corp. sold 6,083 vehicles, down 32 percent.