Edmunds predicts that FoMoCo will take over Toyota in 2010
In response to the recent troubles plaguing Toyota, auto-industry authority Edmunds has altered is “10 sales forecast, shifting units from Toyota onto the other automakers. They even predict that the shift in sales will propel Ford back into the number two spot, as far as U.S. sales are concerned, a spot that Toyota took from Ford in 2007.
Though Edmunds expects G.M., Ford, and Honda to pick up the lion’s share of the increase, the shift is expected to be seen all across the board, including in the sales figures of Chrysler, Hyundai, and Nissan.
Toyota closed 2009 with 17% of the American market, a slight improvement over 2008, but saw their share quickly plummet to 14.1%, their lowest share in four years. Ford has thus far been the primary beneficiary of the Toyota crisis.
Contributing to Ford”s closing the gap are the newer models the company has coming out, seen as competitors to the Toyota line, especially the Focus and Fiesta.
Ford, G.M., and Hyundai have also all been running incentive programs in order to lure buyers from Toyota, and Edmunds analysts say these programs are working, as Toyota trade-ins have increased between 1% and 5% at G.M., Ford and Hyundai dealerships.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: AutoObserver
