New York: Toyota Motor, estimating that it lost 18,000 sales in the United States last month while its chief competitors enjoyed big gains, introduced incentives on Tuesday as it tried to restore consumers' confidence in its vehicles after three big recalls. (Read: With recall expanding, Toyota gives an apology)
The deals, described as the "most far-reaching sales program in its history," include no-interest financing for five years on eight models and low lease rates on nine. Toyota also is giving past customers who buy a new Toyota up to two years of free scheduled maintenance "as a thank-you to our customers for sticking with us," said Robert S. Carter, general manager of the Toyota division.
"I can't come up with an incentive program that makes that go away," he said on a conference call.
Ford topped GM by 471 vehicles, or six-hundredths of a percentage point of market share.
GM's sales rose 12 percent from a year ago over all and 32 percent for the four brands it is keeping: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. So far this year, Ford sales are up 35 percent, compared with 13 percent for General Motors.
"With all the publicity out there, people are thinking twice before automatically just getting a new Toyota," said Ron Pinelli, president of MotorIntelligence.com. "Toyota was almost the gold standard for quality for so many years that people just thought Toyota was a safe bet and they really didn't consider other brands."
down 13 percent. The Toyota Camry midsize sedan, usually the top-selling car in the country, posted a 20 percent decline and for the second consecutive month was outsold by the Honda Accord.
Dealers have fixed more than 1 million accelerator pedals since early February.
"We see some consumers saying, 'I'm never going near this brand again,' and others saying, 'This is a great time to buy a Toyota,' " said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with the research firm IHS Global Insight.
"Everybody else has really been chasing Toyota for years, and what's happened this year is that at a time when other manufacturers are really catching up to Toyota, Toyota is simultaneously stumbling."
Ford executives were unable to say how many sales were to people who might have bought a Toyota.
"Frankly, our studies show that many of the Toyota buyers were still undecided as to what they were going to do," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president for U.S. sales, service and marketing.
Ford said it planned to build 595,000 vehicles in the second quarter, 32 percent more than a year ago.
GM said that it was no longer publicly releasing production forecasts.
Total industry sales increased 13 percent from a year ago and would have been higher but for storms that kept consumers away from showrooms across much of the country. Automakers estimated that the weather cost the industry about 30,000 sales. GM said its sales were down more than 20 percent in the snowy Northeast but up 71 percent in the West.
Separately, GM announced a shake-up in the management of its North American operations, the latest in a series of executive shuffles since Edward E. Whitacre Jr. became chief executive last year. Among the changes is the separation of the marketing and sales organizations.
Susan Docherty, previously vice president for both sales and marketing in the United States, will handle marketing alone. Chevrolet and Cadillac will have new sales leaders reporting directly to Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. The head of Buick and GMC also will report directly to Reuss, as will a new vice president of U.S. sales operations, Steve Carlisle, who was running GM operations in southeast Asia.
The deals, described as the "most far-reaching sales program in its history," include no-interest financing for five years on eight models and low lease rates on nine. Toyota also is giving past customers who buy a new Toyota up to two years of free scheduled maintenance "as a thank-you to our customers for sticking with us," said Robert S. Carter, general manager of the Toyota division.
"I can't come up with an incentive program that makes that go away," he said on a conference call.
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Ford topped GM by 471 vehicles, or six-hundredths of a percentage point of market share.
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GM's sales rose 12 percent from a year ago over all and 32 percent for the four brands it is keeping: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. So far this year, Ford sales are up 35 percent, compared with 13 percent for General Motors.
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"With all the publicity out there, people are thinking twice before automatically just getting a new Toyota," said Ron Pinelli, president of MotorIntelligence.com. "Toyota was almost the gold standard for quality for so many years that people just thought Toyota was a safe bet and they really didn't consider other brands."
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down 13 percent. The Toyota Camry midsize sedan, usually the top-selling car in the country, posted a 20 percent decline and for the second consecutive month was outsold by the Honda Accord.
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Dealers have fixed more than 1 million accelerator pedals since early February.
"We see some consumers saying, 'I'm never going near this brand again,' and others saying, 'This is a great time to buy a Toyota,' " said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with the research firm IHS Global Insight.
"Everybody else has really been chasing Toyota for years, and what's happened this year is that at a time when other manufacturers are really catching up to Toyota, Toyota is simultaneously stumbling."
Ford executives were unable to say how many sales were to people who might have bought a Toyota.
"Frankly, our studies show that many of the Toyota buyers were still undecided as to what they were going to do," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president for U.S. sales, service and marketing.
Ford said it planned to build 595,000 vehicles in the second quarter, 32 percent more than a year ago.
GM said that it was no longer publicly releasing production forecasts.
Total industry sales increased 13 percent from a year ago and would have been higher but for storms that kept consumers away from showrooms across much of the country. Automakers estimated that the weather cost the industry about 30,000 sales. GM said its sales were down more than 20 percent in the snowy Northeast but up 71 percent in the West.
Separately, GM announced a shake-up in the management of its North American operations, the latest in a series of executive shuffles since Edward E. Whitacre Jr. became chief executive last year. Among the changes is the separation of the marketing and sales organizations.
Susan Docherty, previously vice president for both sales and marketing in the United States, will handle marketing alone. Chevrolet and Cadillac will have new sales leaders reporting directly to Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. The head of Buick and GMC also will report directly to Reuss, as will a new vice president of U.S. sales operations, Steve Carlisle, who was running GM operations in southeast Asia.
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