Category Archives: Auto Industry

NHTSA issues new connectivity guidelines

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In the opening round of what may be a long battle with drivers addicted to constant in-car connectivity, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today released the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s guidelines to cut down on driver distraction. The agency hopes the guidelines will motivate vehicle manufacturers to rethink in-car communication, entertainment and navigations systems.

“Distracted driving is a deadly epidemic that has devastating consequences on our nation’s roadways,” said Secretary LaHood. “These guidelines recognize that today’s drivers appreciate technology, while providing automakers with a way to balance the innovation consumers want with the safety we all need. Combined with good laws, good enforcement and good education, these guidelines can save lives.”

Since there has been no federal legislation addressing the issue, the NHTSA guidelines are voluntary. They recommend specific criteria for any factory-installed devices that require a driver to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road for use.

Included are recommendations to limit the time a driver devotes to perform any task to no more than two seconds per action and twelve seconds to complete the task. At legal highway speed, generally 70 miles per hour, a vehicle travels 205 feet, more than two-thirds the length of a football field in just two seconds.

In addition, the guidelines recommend that systems be designed so that certain functions will be inoperative unless the gearshift selector is in the “Park” position. These functions include:

Manual text entry for text messaging and internet browsing;
Video-based entertainment and communications;
Display of certain types of text, including text messages, web pages, social media content.

The agency’s recommendations are derived from research results like the findings of a new NHTSA naturalistic driving study, The Impact of Hand-Held and Hands-Free Cell Phone Use on Driving Performance and Safety Critical Event Risk.

“The new study strongly suggests that visual-manual tasks can degrade a driver’s focus and increase the risk of getting into a crash up to three times,” said David L. Strickland, NHTSA Administrator. “The new guidelines and our ongoing work with our state partners across the country will help us put an end to the dangerous practice of distracted driving by limiting the amount of time drivers take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and their attention away from the task of driving.”

The study found text messaging, browsing, and dialing resulted in the longest duration of drivers taking their eyes-off-road. Text messaging increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by two times and resulted in the driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 23.3 seconds total. Visual-manual activities performed when completing a phone call – such as reaching for a phone, looking up a contact and dialing the number – increased the risk by three times.

The study did not find a direct increased crash risk from the specific act of talking on a cell phone. However, the manual-visual interactions involved with using a hand-held phone made its overall use 1.73 times more risky, since the use of these devices involve visual-manual tasks 100 percent of the time. Even portable hands-free and in-vehicle hands-free cell phone use was found to involve visual-manual tasks at least 50 percent of the time, which are associated with higher risk.

The guidelines, sure to draw criticism from some automakers and a number of consumers, are far less stringent than the proposals from the National Traffic Safety Board. Chairperson Deborah Hersman has called for a total ban on the use of cell phones and smart phones, whether hand-held or hands-free, by the driver of any motor vehicle.

Toyota Officially No. 1 Worldwide

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With today’s release of its 2012 worldwide sales, Toyota Motor Corporation officially regained the crown as the world’s top automaker. With nearly 9.75 million vehicles to its credit, Toyota had no trouble besting General Motors, which took the top spot last year as Toyota wrestled with problems arising from the disastrous earthquake and tsunami.

General Motors’ worldwide total was almost 9.29 million cars and trucks.

Volkswagen, which has a stated goal of being the world’s largest automaker by the end of this decade, came in third with 9.07 million sales.

The best-selling vehicle for 2012 hasn’t yet been determined, though Ford announced the Fiesta would be the No. 1 B-segment vehicle and the Focus would top C-segment sales, beating the Toyota Corolla, the best-selling vehicle of all time. Ford’s claim was based on first-half sales and more recent figures seem to indicate the Corolla had either closed the gap or actually passed the Focus. The Ford F-series pickup is the world’s second-best-selling vehicle of all time, about two million behind the Toyota.

BMW is top-selling luxury brand in 2012

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It came right down to the wire, but BMW pulled out all the stops in December to bring in a total of 37,399 sales for a 2012 total of 281,460 cars and SUVs. The was enough to beat Mercedes-Benz’s December total of 28,145 and 2012 total of 274,134, an all-time record for the folks from Sindelfingen. The margin of 7,326 sales locked up the luxury segment crown for the Bavarians for another year.

It will be interesting to see if the fierce rivalry between the two German automakers will involve some of the questionable tactics used last year when BMW dealers actually registered new cars to bolster the numbers and then sold the cars as demonstrators, used but with the full new car warranty. Mercedes employed similar tactics to beef up its numbers.

Lexus, which had been the king of the hill for many years beginning in the first years of the 21st Century, came in third with a 12-month total of 244,166. Lexus did beat Mercedes’ monthly sales in December by delivering 30,607 cars and trucks.

Cadillac was the top premium brand, placing fourth in December sales but dropping behind Acura to fifth for the year. Actual retail sales of GM’s luxury marque were only slightly ahead of those reported by sixth-place Audi, which set its own all-time record in 2012.

Sales of the S60 and XC60 gave Volvo its best sales year since 2007 as the U.S. once again was the largest market for the Swedish brand.

Porsche sales soared 61.8% in December, sealing the deal for a new all-time sales record as sales of the newest 911 climbed 41.8% in 2012.

Land Rover sales were up, but Jaguar took a slight tumble. Still Jaguar Land Rover’s 2012 results were positive.

PREMIUM BRANDS – DECEMBER & FULL-YEAR SALES
Brand December Brand 2012
BMW 37,399 BMW 281,460
Lexus 30,607 Mercedes-Benz 274,134
Mercedes-Benz 28,145 Lexus 244,166
Cadillac 18,248 Acura 156,216
Acura 16,034 Cadillac 149,782
Audi 14,841 Audi 139,310
Infiniti 12,627 Infiniti 119,877
Lincoln 7,384 Lincoln 82,150
Volvo 6,150 Volvo 68,117
Land Rover 5,174 Land Rover 43,644
Porsche 2,952 Porsche 35,043
Jaguar 1,049 Jaguar 12,011

Chrysler kicks off sales reporting with 10.4 percent gain

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Chrysler Group LLC this morning reported December 2012 U.S. light vehicle sales rose 10.4% in December, exceeding analyst estimates and marking the company’s strongest December since 2007. December was also the company’s 33rd consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

Full-year sales climbed 20.6% to 1,651,787 cars and light trucks, the best results in five years. Full-year market share is estimated to come in at 11.2%, up from 10.5% in 2011.

Chrysler, Dodge, Ram Truck, and Fiat brands all posted sales increases in December compared with same month a year ago. Fiat led the way with a 59.4% increase in sales, followed by Dodge, which saw a strong performance from the Journey. Journey sales soared 63.2%, a jump exceeded only by the 287.4 leap in sales of the Ram Cargo van. Ram Cargo Van sales for 2012 were 922.4% better than 2011. The Ram pickup reported sales up 16.1% in December, the same gain as the overall Ram brand. Chrysler 300 sales rose 39.5% in December, helping the brand stay in the black by 6.4% despite shortfalls in sales of the 200 and Town & Country minivan.

Jeep brand U.S. sales were up 13.1% in 2012 helping the legendary nameplate to set a new global sales record. The brand stumbled 8.5 in December as dealers cleared out remaining inventories of the Liberty and Compass sales remained weak.

December sales records were set by the Fiat 500, Dodge Journey, Dodge Challenger, Jeep Wrangler and Ram Cargo Van. The Dodge Avenger had its best December since 2007. The Jeep Grand Cherokee enjoyed its

Dodge Dart sales hit their highest point since the June launch and were up 36% over November.

“Chrysler Group ended 2012 on a strong note with December sales up 10 percent and our best December sales since 2007,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Dodge Brand and Head of U.S. Sales. “Looking back on 2012, we were again one of the fastest growing automakers in the country with total sales up 21 percent.”

Chrysler Group finished the month with a 72-days supply of inventory (426,664 units). U.S. industry sales figures for December are projected at an estimated 15.8 million units Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR).


Chrysler Group LLC U.S. Sales Summary Thru December 2012
Model Dec-12 Dec-11 Chg YTD 2012 YTD 2011 Chg
Fiat 500 3,707 2,325 59.4% 43,772 19,769 121.4%
FIAT BRAND 3,707 2,325 59.4% 43,772 19,769 121.4%
Chrysler 200 9,080 9,213 -1.4% 125,476 87,033 44.2%
Sebring 0 0 N/A 0 2,380 -100.0%
Chrysler 300 7,175 5,142 39.5% 70,747 36,285 95.0%
PT Cruiser 0 0 N/A 0 1,328 -100.0%
Town & Country 9,258 9,619 -3.8% 111,744 94,320 18.5%
CHRYSLER BRAND 25,513 23,974 6.4% 307,967 221,346 39.1%
Compass 3,131 4,255 -26.4% 40,235 47,709 -15.7%
Patriot 4,566 4,400 3.8% 62,010 54,647 13.5%
Wrangler 11,545 11,415 1.1% 141,669 122,460 15.7%
Liberty 3,508 6,161 -43.1% 75,483 66,684 13.2%
Grand Cherokee 17,121 17,346 -1.3% 154,734 127,744 21.1%
Commander 0 0 N/A 0 105 -100.0%
JEEP BRAND 39,871 43,577 -8.5% 474,131 419,349 13.1%
Caliber 31 1,417 -97.8% 10,176 35,049 -71.0%
Dart 6,105 0 N/A 25,303 0 N/A
Avenger 7,382 6,216 18.8% 96,890 64,023 51.3%
Charger 7,867 7,211 9.1% 82,592 70,089 17.8%
Challenger 3,942 3,284 20.0% 43,119 39,534 9.1%
Viper 0 36 -100.0% 20 197 -89.8%
Journey 7,688 4,710 63.2% 79,563 55,155 44.3%
Caravan 14,160 11,879 19.2% 141,468 110,862 27.6%
Nitro 0 1,989 -100.0% 3,269 24,434 -86.6%
Durango 5,216 4,806 8.5% 42,589 51,697 -17.6%
DODGE  BRAND 52,391 41,548 26.1% 524,989 451,040 16.4%
Dakota 0 408 -100.0% 490 12,156 -96.0%
Ram P/U 30,211 26,013 16.1% 293,363 244,762 19.9%
Cargo Van 674 174 287.4% 7,075 692 922.4%
RAM BRAND 30,885 26,595 16.1% 300,928 257,610 16.8%
GRAND TOTAL 152,367 138,019 10.4% 1,651,787 1,369,114 20.6%
TOTAL CAR 45,289 34,844 30.0% 498,095 354,362 40.6%
TOTAL TRUCK 107,078 103,175 3.8% 1,153,692 1,014,755 13.7%

Ford claims top brand title for 2012

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Ford Motor Company has announced that its namesake marque is on track to be the only brand to top two million U.S. light vehicle sales in 2012, repeating its performance from last year. Ford has been the only brand to break the two-million mark in the U.S. since 2007.

At the end of November, cumulative sales of Ford cars and light trucks totaled 1,955,341, leaving just 44,659 additional sales needed to reach the two million mark. Since Ford sold more than that number of F-Series pickups in November, Ford’s PR department is really hedging their bets.

For the first 11 months of 2012, Chevrolet brand sales came out to 1,684,555 while Toyota’s total was 1,606,819. Even with a blow-the-doors-off December, it’s hard to see either brand coming up with the needed sales to hit the two-million mark.

While Ford will be the top brand overall and the top-selling truck brand, Toyota will take the passenger car crown for 2012. At the end of last month, Toyota brand car sales stood at 948,014 not including Scion or Lexus, which is about 45% ahead of Ford’s 654,272 sales. Chevy is the current runner-up in cars with 776,780 sales.

Ford also claims that the Focus will become this year’s best-selling global vehicle model and the Fiesta will come through as the world’s best-selling B-Car, which would give Ford the top-selling B- and C-segment cara in the world. Ford’s assumptions are based on Polk global industry data through September.

These claims may be challenged. According to data from other sources, including ACEA and JATO, the Toyota Corolla is still the best-selling car model worldwide with 938,507 sales through the end of October, compared to 835,324 for the Focus. The Fiesta may have a better shot at bringing home the B-segment crown, as it has the current lead in the numbers.

What could make this an interesting contest is how much world events are affecting sales. Ford’s European sales have taken a hit in the past couple of months as the economy continues to slide. Toyota’s sales have been battered, literally in some cases, by the ongoing dispute between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands. Add to that the fact that Volkswagen’s sales have held up better than most in Europe and it has had stronger results than Ford or Toyota in China. It’s also one of the lead players in Latin America. VW’s chances are hampered by the splintering of models. Unifying the models sold in Latin America with those sold in the U.S. and Europe would give the Golf and Polo a real boost in the numbers.

Due to the pace at which various countries report new vehicle registrations or sales, it could be February 2013 before there is a clear winner.