What's Wrong With This Picture: Retail Versus Fleet Sales In July

by Edward Niedermeyer

Updated: February 23rd, 2023

The debate over July’s sales results is going to heat up again with this infographic showing the fleet and retail results for the major US brands. And one thing is clear: Toyota and Honda’s tumble from the top was not disguised by a huge bump in fleet sales. Though retail volume at the top two Japanese brands dropped by between 20 and 30 percent, both cut way back on fleet sales as well… which is a highly recommendable move when supply problems hit. After all, you have to squeeze every last penny out of the remaining volume until inventory levels even out. On the other hand, both Ford and GM cranked up fleet volume last month, with Ford’s fleet percentage leaping to an industry-leading 31%. That gives Ford the lowest retail percentage of all major automakers, with GM only five points ahead. Chrysler was the only other major OEM under 90% for the month, at 84%. So those who argue that domestics are taking over the industry need to dial back their expectations a bit for the moment: between the supply issues and the fleet picture, it’s too early to determine what exactly is going on in the industry. But if the domestics trim back on fleet and Toyota and Honda continue to lose volume over the month of August, then we can start talking about the kinds of seismic shifts that some are already reading in the sales numbers.

#3WTP #Fleets #NewCars #Sales

Edward Niedermeyer

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8 of 58 comments

Jj99 on Aug 15, 2011

Once before I mentioned the surprising number of 2012 Focus rentals on the Mass pike. Rentals are easy to spot because of the rental stickers. Plus, quite a few new 2012 Focus with government plates are on a government lot in South Boston. It seems like a smart strategy in that it gives the illusion that the Focus is hot. Many don't know how to spot the rentals. Also makes me wonder why Ford unloads these into fleets. Possible that Ford does this to keep the inventory down and the prices up to the retail crowd.

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- PintoFan on Aug 15, 2011
  
  Let's face it: You think every new American brand car on the street is a rental or a government fleet purchase.
  
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- Loser on Aug 15, 2011
  
  No illusion that the Focus beats the Civic. Is it at all possible that maybe people(other than yourelf)can see GM and Ford are now building competitive cars? j99 or is it jimmy today? You are no different than those in the past that refused to see the crap Detriot was building while they dismissed all imports as junk.
  
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Trucky McTruckface on Aug 15, 2011

Well this would explain why at least half of the new Focuses I've seen have rental barcodes in the back window...

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Mike978 on Aug 16, 2011

I think a key point has been overlooked in this increasing sterile debate (fleets good/not good, domestics fleet too much/just right etc). What matters is the profit and margin each company makes. GM and Ford are both profitable and looking at the GM briefing presentation last week GM has reasonable margins (similar to VW, less than BMW, ahead of Toyota). So on one level it does matter if GM sells 100% to fleets or 0%, what matters is the profit, which allows future cars to be developed.

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- 86er on Aug 16, 2011
  
  Plus, I think many of us fail to see that Ford's, and GM's, product mix is vastly different than that of the Japanese competition. We can quibble over semantics all day but the Detroit automakers are still the "domestics", and produce many products that are only for the NADM, just as Toyota, Mitsu, Nissan et al. produce unique vehicles for the JDM. As Nullo mentioned above, Ford, for example, has products like the Econoline that have basically no Japanese or European competition. But they're not what families are buying off the showroom floor on Saturday afternoon, either. They're bound to be for fleets. That's not spin, that's simple reality. And as you point out, as long as Ford, GM and Chrysler aren't giving away their product anymore, fleets don't have to necessarily be a byword for "bad sales".
  
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Pch101 on Aug 16, 2011
I think many of us fail to see that Ford’s, and GM’s, product mix is vastly different than that of the Japanese competition. The issue isn't product mix, it's fleet percentages. And the domestics have higher fleet percentages than does Toyota and substantially higher percentages that does Honda, as the latter avoids the fleet market. (Nissan is another story.) Ford, for example, has products like the Econoline that have basically no Japanese or European competition Even when you adjust for those, the results are similar. For example, during MY 2009, Ford had fleet sales of 30.1%. Remove the Crown Vic/ Grand Marquis, Econoline, Town Car, and F-150 from that list, and you still end up with fleet sales of about 25%, with 60% of those fleet sales going to rental. The domestics have fleet sales that exceed the industry average, and the majority of fleet sales go to rental. These are just facts. I know that some of you want to believe otherwise, trying to use anecdotes and such in order to deny it, but the facts have been what they are.

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- Mike978 on Aug 16, 2011
  
  I accept the facts, they are clear. I don`t care (not meant nastily) - as long as those companies make money that is the key thing. I am very impressed by Chrysler eduction from somewhere around 40% to under 20% fleet.
  
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