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Americans still prefer Toyota over Chrysler

17th of March 2010

With Toyota being in the center of attention lately with all their recalls and technical problems, a lot of people forgot that the most important North American auto groups were on the brink of bankruptcy just a couple of months ago. The Chrysler Group is no exception. It may come as a surprise for some, but people living in the United States of America would still rather be driving a Toyota than a Chrysler product. In other words, the Americans would rather risk getting killed than driving a Chrysler. Ouch.

Something not exactly fair has been happening, as some people quoted a 3% drop by Chrysler and this is thanks to the fleet sales alone. The real numbers point out that the Chrysler has dropped in sales by 44% this year in comparison to the same period of the last year. In the meantime, Toyota lost only 14% of sales.

A Chrysler spokesman has said ``Fleet is part of our business strategy...We have to rebuild consumers` confidence in the company...The fact that large companies are willing to buy our vehicles helps rebuild our confidence``. However, some industry analysts do not agree with the position of Chrysler in this case.

J.D. Power & Associates member, mister Jeff Schuster, has stated ``It really is survival mode for the next 18 months until they can see products in the showroom...They are not finished with the turnaround yet. This is not something that can happen overnight``.

President of Autoconomy.com, mister Erich Merkle, has said ``The fact that [Chrysler is] losing share on the pickup side, it says to me that this goes beyond the product itself...I think Chrysler in the near term will be at the mercy of the market. They will continue to lose market share, but they have got to hope that a rising tide will lift all boats``.

Jesse Toprrak of TrueCar has said ``You can not viably survive with fleet and rental sales over 50%...The math just does not work``.

My opinion is that the fact that Americans would rather risk their life in a Toyota rather than to drive a Chrysler says a lot about how bad Chrysler is doing. If it wasn`t for the Government bailout, I am more than certain that Chrysler would have been dead and buried by now.
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