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Detroit lost control of its own market last month, as domestic market share fell below 50 percent for the first time in history, and they have no one to blame but themselves. According to USA Today, Paul Ballew, executive director of market and industry analysis at General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) said: "We are not going to cede market share to the competition." What Ballew failed to admit was the fact that they already have, and it's been going on for years.

Foreign automakers have seized the opportunity to take market share during the summer by offering tons of rebates, with Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) offering a record number of incentives, according to Edmunds.com. Despite the push, overall auto sales last month were down 12.3 percent compared to July 2006. Excluding Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.(NASDAQ: NSANY), BMW and Kia, every major automaker posted a decline in U.S. sales.

Industry experts cited months of higher-than-average gas prices, as well as the problems in the housing market, for soft sales. "Experts" failed to mention that most foreign cars provide tons of incentives, better miles per gallon and have a better reputation than American cars.

With the weakness in the overall industry last month, automakers could start to develop some creative and aggressive marketing ploys, Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Edmunds.com, told USA Today. The real question is will U.S. companies ever realize they need to develop autos that have better mileage, and steer away from building gigantic gas guzzling SUVs? With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey abandoning their push (subscription required) for an increase in fuel-economy standards, Detroit lacks any reason to even consider it.

Surprise! Americans like foreign cars more than their own originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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