Asians to get boost at NY auto show

Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co and their Asian peers may get a bigger sales boost than their US rivals from vehicles introduced at the annual New York auto show this week.

New models from Asia include Nissan's latest Maxima and the Fit small car and Acura TSX sports sedan from Honda. South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co is showing a two-door version of its Genesis premium car, while Toyota Motor Corp has a coupe that may be added to its youth-oriented Scion brand.

The new-model count at the show mirrors the rising fortunes of the Asians in the Northeast as well as the total US market. Asian companies account for 10 of the 20 vehicles making their global or North American debuts, compared with two from US automakers, according to the show's organizers. Eight of the new models are European makes.

"The New York show has lost some of the allure for US brands that it once had," said George Magliano, a New York-based analyst for research firm Global Insight Inc. "It's still the media capital, but the biggest introductions for them are in Detroit, Los Angeles and Geneva."

Asian automakers' retail sales in the Northeast US rose 3.7 percent in 2007, compared with a 3.4 percent decline for domestic carmakers, according to data from R.L. Polk & Co Nationwide, Ford, GM and Chrysler yielded share to the Asians in 2007 for the 12th straight year.

"New York is still important, but we do spread out our product introductions for all the big shows," Mark Fields, a Ford Motor Co executive vice-president, said.

US automakers are highlighting a handful of niche vehicles at the event, formally known as the New York International Auto Show. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford is displaying a prototype taxi version of a European commercial van that's scheduled to go on sale in the US in 2009. New York generates about 2,000 new cab sales annually.

"This year, we wanted to show something local more than anything else," Fields said.

Chrysler LLC is showing its full line of Dodge Challenger sports cars, while General Motors Corp, the world's biggest automaker, is introducing the Pontiac G8 coupe-pickup combo. The vehicle is initially expected to be more of a showroom lure than a sales draw, said Mark LaNeve, sales chief of Detroit-based GM, in an interview.

Honda's Fit

Honda, by comparison, expects to sell at least 70,000 Fits this year, up from 56,432 in 2007. Next year "we think with this new car we can do better", Dick Colliver, Honda's US executive vice-president, said in an interview. The Tokyo-based automaker expects as much as a 3 percent US sales gain this year.

J.D. Power & Associates two days ago predicted US sales of 14.95 million this year, which would be the lowest annual total since 1994. Consumer confidence dropped to a 16-year low this month and gasoline prices are at near-record levels, curbing demand. Housing starts, considered a leading measure of truck sales, fell in February to their lowest level in 17 years.

"Our products are right in the sweet spot of the market, given the demand for better fuel efficiency, value and reliability," Honda's Colliver said. "When you have a contracting economy, the people are going to migrate to our product, and we think we're perfectly positioned."

Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker and No 6 in the US, anticipates annual sales of its new Maxima of between 65,000 and 80,000 units, brand manager Al Castignetti said in an interview in New York.

The market for new autos this year is "challenging", said Chrysler Vice-Chairman Jim Press, who a year ago was Toyota's North American chief. He said his Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker may post "big declines" in March sales, following drops the past two months.

"The Big Three are certainly slipping in the US, but you can always expect them to make a show of things, to bring out the coolest vehicles in New York, even if they aren't the big sellers," said Wes Brown, an analyst with Iceology, an automotive marketing firm firm in Los Angeles.

"If they don't bring out something, then people will start to suspect things are really in bad shape."

The show opens to the public today and runs through March 30.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/21/2008 page16)