By Sarah Mupo -- February 2, 2010
After Toyota Motor Corporation's vast vehicle recall and a temporary sales suspension of some of its most popular models, the automaker said Tuesday its sales in the United States fell 16 percent in January.
Toyota said that eight models had their sales and production suspended, including the Toyota Camry sedan, whose sales fell 24 percent, and the Avalon, a larger sedan that saw a decline of 55 percent. The overall sales of the eight models were 21 percent lower last month. Toyota said that the models comprised three-fifths of the cars on dealers' lots.
Shinchi Sasaki, the Toyota executive in charge of quality control, said in a news conference Tuesday in Japan that automaker anticipated decreased sales because of the recall and sales suspension.
"Our main concern is not about sales at all. It's about regaining our customers' trust," he said.
Most other automakers saw a sales increase last month--General Motors
Company's sales climbed 14 percent, including brands the company has
sold off or discontinued. Ford Motor Company posted a 24.6 percent
increase, with higher sales for every brand and in every product
category.
"In the U.S., we are seeing a strong rebound in manufacturing and stabilization of consumer confidence, which will support a slow but steady improvement in the vehicle market," Mike DiGiovanni, G.M.'s chief sales analyst, said.
G.M. reported that it has calculated that the company is still the leading seller in the U.S., taking approximately 21 percent of the market.
Mecedez-Benz also reported an increase of 45.3 percent, compared to January 2009, signifying an apparent rebound of the luxury auto market.
