Auto Makers See A Ray Of Hope

尽管数据显示3月份汽车销量再次大幅下滑，但汽车制造商周三却表现出了一丝乐观情绪，称他们看到了这个行业可能正在触底复苏即将开始的迹象。所有大型汽车制造商的销量都比去年同期至少下降了36%。Autodata Corp.的数据显示，美国市场的轿车和轻型卡车总销量为857,735辆，比去年同期下降了37%。不过这高于2月份688,909辆的销量，而且还是去年9月以来的最高水平。2月份销量比上年同期下降41%。Getty Images图为丰田副总裁卡特1月份在底特律车展上亮相。他说，和2月份时相比，丰田3月份的汽车销量增长了18%，这或许初步表明乐观情绪已经重新回到了汽车市场。受到密切关注的折合成年率的销售量为986万辆，大大低于几年前1,600万辆以上的通常水平，但高于2月份的912万辆。丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)集团副总裁卡特(Bob Carter)在一个电话会议上说，我相信我们正处在汽车业触底的过程中。卡特说，丰田3月份销售量比2月份增长了18%，这可能是已经触底和一些乐观情绪正在回归市场的非常初步的迹象。通用汽车公司(General Motors Corp.)高级销售分析师迪吉瓦尼(Michael DiGiovanni)说，他预计第二季度汽车销售将出现“非常，非常稳定的回升”。他称这是市场转好的最初的迹象。克莱斯勒公司(Chrysler LLC)副董事长兼总裁普莱斯(Jim Press)说，市场开始出现一线生机，需要像幼苗那样加以呵护。同通用汽车一样，克莱斯勒也在从政府寻求更多的援助。3月份销量的上升也得益于对汽车租赁公司等批量购买客户的销售。通用汽车称，共向集团客户出售了36,000辆汽车。这个数字低于上年同期，但高于2月份。据知情人士说，克莱斯勒共向集团客户出售了约30,000辆车。随着对个人消费者销售的急剧下滑，丰田汽车和现代汽车公司(Hyundai Motor Co.)等外国汽车制造商在过去一年里也加强了对集团客户的销售。对集团客户销售的利润往往低于对普通消费者的销售。向买家提供的高额优惠也推动了3月的销售。根据网站Edmunds.com的数据，汽车制造商在3月份每售出一辆汽车平均就提供了创纪录的3,169美元的优惠。这个数字比上年同期增加了733美元，增幅高达30.1%，比2月份增加了171美元，增幅为5.7%。汽车制造商认为，经济的先行指标表明需求可能在第二和第三季度有所回升。福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co.)经济学家莫里斯(Emily Kolinski Morris)在谈到消费者信心企稳的报告时称，我可以说，我们这几周已经看到一些令人鼓舞的迹象，经济衰退的步伐可能正在放缓。2月份的新屋开工数也出现了增长。福特汽车的管理人员说，积极的迹象还包括二手车价格的上涨，市场上更多的现金买家，以及预计能够提振集团销售的政府和其他大规模汽车买家将重返市场。不过莫里斯指出，信贷状况汽车业重组的风险，以及消费者心理看来都可能对汽车业的销售结果产生了影响。目前这个结果比根据历史表现的任何模型所能预测的结果都更糟糕。3月底时奥巴马总统拒绝了通用汽车和克莱斯勒的复苏计划，并谈到可能会进行破产重组。还不清楚这会对总体销售有何影响。但福特汽车销售分析师皮帕斯(George Pipas)周三向分析师和记者表示，上周我们的确看到情况已开始好转。Neal E. Boudette / Matthew Dolan相关阅读美国3月份汽车销量依旧疲软 2009-04-02通用汽车准备破产计划 2009-04-01菲亚特仍锺情于克莱斯勒交易 2009-04-01给通用汽车算笔账 2009-04-01通用汽车新CEO：公司将削减更多成本 2009-04-01本田5月起将在北美减产 2009-04-01 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', 'F'));福特汽车公司英文名称：Ford Motor Co.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：Fdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', 'TM'));Toyota Motor Corp. (ads)总部地点：日本上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：TMdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', 'HMC'));本田汽车英文名称：Honda Motor Co. (ADS)总部地点：日本上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：HMCdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', 'GM'));General Motors Corp.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：GMdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', 'C.XX'));Chrysler Llc总部地点：美国document.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', '7203.TO'));丰田汽车公司英文名称：Toyota Motor Corp.总部地点：日本上市地点：东京证交所股票代码：7203document.write (truthmeter('2009年04月02日16:17', '7267.TO'));本田汽车英文名称：Honda Motor Co.总部地点：日本上市地点：东京证交所股票代码：7267


Despite reporting another major sales decline in March, auto makers expressed a rare bit of optimism Wednesday, saying they see signs the industry's downturn might be near bottom and a recovery could be starting.All the big car makers suffered sales declines of 36% or more compared to March 2008. Industrywide, U.S. sales totaled 857,735 cars and light trucks, down 37% from a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. But that's up from 688,909 vehicles sold in February and was the highest total since September. February's sales were down 41% from a year earlier.The annualized sales pace, a closely watched indicator, came in at 9.86 million vehicles, well below the 16 million or more the industry typically logged a few years ago, but up from February's pace of 9.12 million.'I believe we are in a bottoming process for the industry,' Bob Carter, a group vice president at Toyota Motor Corp., said in a conference call. Mr. Carter said the company's 18% sales improvement in March compared with February could be 'a very early indication that we have floored and some optimism is starting to return to the market.'Michael DiGiovanni, the top sales analyst at General Motors Corp., said he expects a 'very, very gradual pickup' in vehicle sales in the second quarter. He cited 'the first signs of brightening' in the market. Jim Press, Chrysler LLC's vice chairman and president, said, 'The market is starting to show small signs of life which need to be nourished like seedlings.' Chrysler, like GM, is seeking additional aid from the government.The uptick in March's sales pace was helped by sales of cars to fleet customers such as rental-car companies. GM sold 36,000 vehicles to fleets, the company said. That is fewer than a year ago but up from February.Chrysler sold about 30,000 vehicles to fleets, a person familiar with the company's sales figures said. Foreign auto makers including Toyota and Hyundai Motor Co. also boosted fleet sales in the past year as sales to consumers plunged. Fleet sales often are less profitable than consumer sales.Higher incentives offered to buyers also pumped up March's sales. Auto makers offered, on average, a record $3,169 in incentives per vehicle sold in March, according to Web site Edmunds.com. The figure represents a jump of $733, or 30.1%, from a year earlier and $171, or 5.7%, from February.Car makers cited leading indicators in the economy that suggest demand could edge upward in the second and third quarters.'I can say that we have been seeing some encouraging signs in recent weeks that the pace of economic decline could be moderating,' said Ford Motor Co. economist Emily Kolinski Morris, citing reports of stabilization in consumer confidence. Housing starts also increased in February.Positive signs also include rising used car prices, more cash buyers in the market and the expected return of the government and other large-scale vehicle buyers that will be boosting fleet sales, Ford officials said.Mr. Kolinski Morris noted, however, that 'credit conditions, auto industry restructuring risk and consumer psychology all seem likely to have some part in generating industry sales outcome that is worse than any model based on historical performance would have predicted.'It was unclear what President Barack Obama's rejection of the GM and Chrysler viability plans and mention of possible bankruptcy restructuring had on sales overall since the discussion came at the end of the month. But Ford sales analyst George Pipas told analysts and reporters Wednesday that 'we did see in the last week things start to pick up.'Neal E. Boudette / Matthew Dolan