{"id":45809,"date":"2012-01-04T09:40:39","date_gmt":"2012-01-04T14:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=45809"},"modified":"2012-01-04T09:40:39","modified_gmt":"2012-01-04T14:40:39","slug":"detroit-aims-to-regain-control-of-midsize-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2012\/01\/detroit-aims-to-regain-control-of-midsize-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Aims to Regain Control of Midsize Market"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ford's new Fusion will borrow heavily from the design cues of the Evos Concept - minus the gullwing doors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s been more than a quarter century since the original Ford Taurus made its debut \u2013 the last Detroit sedan to dominate the large and critical midsize market segment.\u00a0 But the number two U.S. maker is hoping to score another home run with the launch of an all-new version of the four-door Fusion at next week\u2019s North American International Auto Show.<\/p>\n

While the maker is being tight-lipped with details, the new sedan is already generating quite a buzz, the 2013 Fusion expected to borrow many of the design cues of the Ford Evos Concept first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show last autumn.\u00a0 Along with cutting-edge styling, the new Fusion is expected to offer luxury-segment technologies \u2013 like lane departure warning \u2013 at mainstream prices.<\/p>\n

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Your Inside Source!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ford won\u2019t be the only domestic maker putting the emphasis on midsize models at the Detroit show, Chevrolet rolling out the production version of its new 2013 Malibu Eco, a \u201cmild\u201d hybrid model getting more than 40 miles per gallon in a segment that has become highly sensitive to mileage.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been years since Detroit\u2019s Big Three have put so much emphasis on passenger cars, in general, and on the huge midsize market, in particular.\u00a0 In the more than quarter century since the introduction of the original Taurus \u2013 which spent several years as the best-selling passenger car in the country \u2013 the domestic makers have largely focused on more profitable light trucks, ceding control of the midsize segment to import models like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.<\/p>\n

When sales numbers come out later today, the Toyota Camry is expected to once again be the nation\u2019s best-selling midsize sedan \u2013 and top the passenger car list, though Ford\u2019s big F-Series pickup will be the number-one vehicle overall and the best-seller among trucks for the 30th<\/sup> year in a row.<\/p>\n

But Camry\u2019s lead will be sharply eroded.\u00a0 It is expected to come in only slightly ahead of the Nissan Altima, with several domestic passenger cars, notably including the outgoing Fusion and Malibu models also closing the gap.\u00a0 The Honda Accord has also slipped precipitously on the sales charts in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see this as a very real opportunity\u201d to take on the Japanese leaders, said Mark Moussa, the chief engineer for the new Chevy Malibu.<\/p>\n

While light trucks, like the F-Series and Chevrolet\u2019s big Silverado, still turn in major profits the truck segment is no longer expected to generate the sales volumes seen during the early years of the new Millennium.\u00a0 The crossover and passenger segments are where the real growth opportunities are coming.<\/p>\n

The midsize segment, in particular, is a solid bed of demand.\u00a0 It will generate about 2 million sales for all of 2011, according to data from IHS Automotive.\u00a0 That\u2019s down from a peak of 2.45 million in 2007 but midsize sedans and coupes maintain roughly the same share of the overall market.<\/p>\n

But not the Japanese.\u00a0 Toyota sold 441,000 Camry models as recently as 2007. That slipped to about 311,000 last year.\u00a0 The Japanese maker downplays the slide, stressing that it had to make significant production cuts as the result of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last March.\u00a0 But even before that Camry\u2019s sales and share were slipping.<\/p>\n

Toyota\u2019s factories are now back up to full speed \u2013 with the maker promising to go into overdrive in a bid to recover lost ground.\u00a0 But that might not make much of a difference, the HIS forecast for 2012 projecting Camry will remain flat, with sales of only 312,000.\u00a0 And that\u2019s despite the addition of a redesigned 2012 Camry \u2013 which has so far received mixed reviews.<\/p>\n

As for Accord, sales have also been slipping and should settle in at 270,000 this year, predicts IHS.\u00a0 That would put it neck-and-next with Fusion, which the consulting firm expects to also generate 270,000 sales this year as Ford phases out the old model and introduces the new one later in the year.<\/p>\n

The new Chevy Malibu, meanwhile, should generate about 240,000 sales, up from 195,000 in 2011.\u00a0 That\u2019s despite the fact that until later in 2012 Chevrolet will only offer the Eco version of the new Malibu.\u00a0 The mainstream version is on hold while the maker finishes developing an all-new four-cylinder engine for it.<\/p>\n

Chrysler sales are also expected to rise, though until it launches a more modern replacement for the current 200 sedan it will likely be an afterthought, most analysts caution.<\/p>\n

But Detroit, on the whole, is positioned to largely close the midsize market gap for the first time in decades, says IHS Automotive Research Director Rebecca Lindland, who says that, ironically, the Japanese are experiencing much the same thing that happened to Detroit in years past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Japanese have been dependent on the blind loyalty of the Baby Boomers routinely checking the box for a Camry or Accord every time,\u201d says Lindland.\u00a0 \u201cBut (buyers are) discovering there\u2019s a new level of refinement from Detroit and the Koreans while the Japanese are cutting corners as they struggle with containing cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Detroit makers aren\u2019t the only ones benefiting from Japan\u2019s decline in the midsize market.\u00a0 Hyundai has seen sales of its Sonata sedan double in recent years, IHS forecasting it will generate 223,000 sales in 2012, while Korean sibling Kia\u2019s new Optima is also showing rapid gains.<\/p>\n

So is Volkswagen, which has scored a home run with the newly updated Passat sedan, which is one of three finalists for North American Car of the Year.\u00a0 Tellingly, the new Camry did not make the cut.<\/p>\n

The Japanese aren\u2019t giving up without a fight.\u00a0 Honda will unveil an all-new concept version of the Accord Coupe at next week\u2019s Detroit show.\u00a0 And Nissan will introduce replacements for its aging Altima and Sentra models later in the year.<\/p>\n

Nissan, normally the quiet member of Japan\u2019s Big Three, actually has reason to crow.\u00a0 It brought production back to normal much quicker than its two chief Japanese competitors last year and is expecting those two midsize sedans to actually achieve double-digit sales gains for 2011.\u00a0 Lindland estimates Altima will further close the gap with Accord and Camry in 2012 with sales of 246,000.<\/p>\n

But, on the whole, the seemingly rock-solid grip Japanese marques long held on the midsize segment appears to be loosening.\u00a0 Detroit, newly refocused on the passenger car market, could be positioned to make some major gains as a result.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After largely sitting on the sidelines for the last two decades, Detroit makers seem positioned to challenge the Japanese for domination of the critical midsize market with new offerings like the 2013 Ford Fusion and Chevy Malibu remakes. TheDetroitBureau.com looks at the shake-up in this critical market segment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45809"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45809"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=45809"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=45809"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=45809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}