Though they're still behind major Asian car companies in the critical California market, and while they still do better in the rest of the country the three Detroit based automakers increased their share of that market by 1.3% for the first 9 months of the year. Overall new car sales in the state were up 12.9% while the Big Three were up 18.5%. California is the biggest market in the United States, accounting for about a tenth of all new car and light truck sales. GM, Ford and Chrysler combined for a 27.8% market share, compared to the 45.2% they earn nationally.
Those figures are mirror images of how Japanese automakers are doing, with a 48.9% market share in California, compared to 37.4% nationally.
The best selling vehicle in California so far this year is the Toyota Prius, selling 54,000 units from January through September. Hybrid sales are up in general in the state and now make up 7% of all sales, more than twice the national percentage, with about 90,000 units sold. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have made up 1% of the total and pure battery EVs have been 1.2% of the market. One of those EVs, the Tesla Model S, is now the third best selling luxury car in California, selling 6,554 units over the first three quarters of the year, compared to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (10,823) and BMW 5-Series (9,352).
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com
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