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Asian automakers gobbled up more than half of US auto sales for the first time in August as a government-funded "Cash for Clunkers" program spurred demand for their fuel-efficient vehicles, industry data showed Tuesday.
Asian brands captured 52.3 percent of the US market in August -- a five-point jump from a year earlier -- while the Detroit Three saw their share slide 4.5 points to a record low of 40.8 percent.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler first saw their share slip below 50 percent in July 2007 after steadily losing ground to foreign rivals for decades.
All three have undergone a series of painful restructuring programs and both GM and Chrysler were forced to seek bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
European brands saw their share slide 0.5 points to 6.9 percent in August, according to Autodata.
The stunning surge from Asian automakers came as US auto sales posted their first monthly gain since October 2007, rising one percent to 1.26 million vehicles from 1.25 million in August 2008.
Hyundai, Ford, Toyota and Honda were the big winners after posting double-digit gains while General Motors and Chrysler continued to report sharp losses despite the increased showroom traffic.
August's seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 14.09 units, the highest since May 2008, was up from an adjusted rate of 11.24 million in July and 9.69 million in June, but still well below the 16 to 17 million vehicles sold every year for the past decade.
Sales remain down 27.9 percent for the year to date, according to Autodata.
"We're not optimistic about the remainder of the year," cautioned Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell.
"Factories are ramping up production to fill up the pipeline again -- production that may come into a market that isn't in the mood for buying."
The three-billion-dollar "Cash for Clunkers" program sparked nearly 700,000 auto sales before it expired last week by offering owners of old gasoline guzzlers up to 4,500 dollars toward a new, more-efficient vehicle.
But analysts cautioned that the nation's weakened economy and high unemployment rate will continue to drag on auto sales and that the clunkers program may have simply encouraged people already planning to buy a new vehicles buy them a month or two earlier.
"I would suspect that in September we're going to see a noticeable decline in sales particularly in the first week or two or possibly even into the third week," said Ford sales analyst George Pipas.
Ford's sales rose 17 percent to 176,323 in August and the automaker said it had managed to boost retail market share in 10 of the last 11 months despite last year's collapse in sales.
The substantial improvement follows an increase of 2.3 percent in July, Ford's first year-on-year gain since November 2007, as the only US automaker to escape bankruptcy continues to draw new customers.
Ford -- which long ago ceded the number two spot to Toyota -- saw its market share rise 1.9 points to 13.9 percent, according to Autodata.
Despite the success of the clunkers program, Ford intends to continue to show "moderation" with company-financed incentive programs, said Ken Czubay, the auto giant's vice president for US marketing, sales and service.
Not so for Chrysler, which saw sales fall 15 percent in August to 93,222 units as its market share slipped 1.4 points to 7.4 percent, placing it in sixth place behind Toyota, Honda and Nissan.
Chrysler announced a new incentive program Tuesday of up to 4,500 dollars in cash back on select vehicles that will run through the end of September.
General Motors, which saw August sales drop 20 percent to 246,479 vehicles, announced plans to extend a promotion allowing California consumers to buy new GM vehicles at the online auction house eBay.
GM put a positive light on the figures, saying August's "strong" sales were up 30 percent from July and were "far and away the company's highest total and retail sales performance of 2009."
GM's market share was down 5.1 points from August 2008 to 19.4 percent, but it still maintained the top spot in its home market according to Autodata.
Korean automaker Hyundai posted a new record in August after sales rose 47 percent to 60,467 vehicles and its market share increased 1.5 points to 4.8 percent.
Among Japanese automakers, Toyota's market share rose 0.9 points to 17.8 percent after sales climbed 11 percent to 225,088 vehicles in August.
Honda's share increased one point to 12.8 percent as sales rose 10 percent to 161,439 vehicles.
Nissan meanwhile, saw its share slip 0.4 points to 8.3 percent as sales fell 2.9 percent to 105,312 vehicles.
