Sales of Full-Size SUVs Continue to Erode in April; Cars Increasing as Percentage of Sales

2 May 2006

April sales of full-size SUVs.

Sales of full-size SUVs continued their downward trajectory, dropping below a combined 100,000 units in April to 91,615, a decrease of 24.7% year on year. Combined sales in the segment for the first four months of the year were down 18.8% year on year to 393,262 units.

Overall, sales of full-size SUVs represented 6.4% of the total sales of light-duty vehicles in April 2006, down from 8.1% of total sales in April 2005.

Although total sales of light-duty vehicles declined in April 2006 from the year prior by 5.6%, cars suffered less than light-duty trucks and SUVs—in other words, the ratio between cars and light-duty trucks is shifting—in general—in the favor of cars.

In April 2006, cars represented 49% of all light-duty vehicle sold, up from 47.4% in 2005. (Absolute numbers, not adjusted for the day-sales rate (DSR)—the average volume sold per sales day in the month, which can vary from year to year.)

Changes in car and truck sales, April 2005 to April 2006. Click to enlarge.

However, there is a sharp difference between what is happening at GM and what is happening at Ford and Chrysler. While GM’s car sales dropped 21.1% from April 2005 to April 2006, Ford’s car sales increased 8.3% and Chrysler’s increased a whopping 32%.

While GM’s truck sales were down 2.3% from April to April (large drops in some brands offset by ongoing strength in the new full-size SUV Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade), Ford’s truck sales dropped 14.6% and Chrysler’s dropped 18.9%.

Percentage-point changes in cars as a percentage of total LDV sales.

From having the highest ratio of cars as a percentage of total LDV sales among the Detroit-3 in April 2005 (44.8%), GM has now dropped 5.2 percentage points to 39.6%. By contrast, Ford gained 5.6 percentage points to hit 40.4%, and Chrysler climbed 9.3 percentage points to hit 30.7%.

In the context of the overall decline in full-size SUV sales, GM is increasing its share of this segment. In April, GM sold 61.3% of all the full-size SUVs, up from a 52.4% share in April 2005.