So cutting back on fleet sales is good for profitability, but bad for market share.
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Nor were sales buoyed by inflated fleet sales as was the case in January.
When evidence of its decline began pouring in, Detroit employed tricks to boost sales, particularly fleet sales.
In January, the company set a retail market share target (exluding fleet sales) of 14.1 percent or better.
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In addition to its other mistakes, Detroit's addiction to fleet sales, particularly of rental cars, has been a killer.
Toyota limits its fleet sales and always shows its best face to drivers.
CNW's Spinella says this kind of fleet sales can be as good for a marque as the rental fleet can be bad.
Look for a boom in team buying and cyber-fleet sales. n Brand and service will not protect companies from rude, disruptive change.
You don't see Toyota stripping out most options for its fleet sales.
Which leads us back to those three Goliath-slaying words: virtual fleet sales.
We've gathered two lists of fleet all-stars: The top ten marques by fleet sales percentage and the top ten in total fleet sales.
Click here for the top ten by percent slide show and here for the top ten, gross fleet sales, slide show.
For the auto industry as a whole, fleet sales are generally less profitable, or potentially even outright unprofitable, compared with retail sales to individuals.
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So far this year fleet sales are up industrywide from the same period last year as automakers struggle to get people to buy at dealerships.
Some of that was intentional:For a while it walked away from moneylosing fleet sales, and it killed low-margin vehicles like the Ford Escort and Lincoln Continental.
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If Wayne Huizenga thinks so -- and he probably does -- then we suggest three words for him (and for any other big-ticket-item broker): Virtual Fleet Sales!
Fleet sales manager Robert Householder had none on his lot, a situation that in the past could have meant telling the customer he'd have to wait a long time and losing the sale.
Fleet sales, which account for 27% of monthly sales, fell one percent on weaker rental accounts, while sales to commercial accounts rose for a 15 consecutive month, up 31%. (Read Fiat To Take Chrysler Stake To 57%, Plans To Buy 6% From Treasury).
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Excluding sales to fleet buyers such as rental car companies, Honda is No. 1, said Mike Acavitti, senior vice president of marketing for American Honda.
But, these were offset by the recovery in residential investment and consumer spending on durable goods which was boosted in part by an aging auto fleet feeding new car sales.
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Spokesman Nick Richards blames the slow growth on a cut in low-profit sales to fleet buyers such as rental car companies as GM tries to boost the brand's resale values.
The Vauxhall brand, under which its cars are marketed in Britain, is still the country's second-biggest seller, but it is believed that 80% of its sales go to fleet and company buyers, who expect even bigger discounts than individual motorists.
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Finally, several members of Congress have proposed an even more ambitious incentive program to increase car sales while modernizing our auto fleet.
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Retail sales recorded a healthy 9% increase, but a 16% drop in fleet deliveries due to a 21% fall in rental volumes was enough to tilt the balance, sending sales into the red for the largest U.S. automaker.
Edmunds.com estimates the retail SAAR at 12.6 million vehicles in November, with fleet transactions accounting for just under 16 percent of total sales.
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But a series of crashes led to a decline in sales, and Saab was left with a fleet of planes that still had about 30 years of life still in them.
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The report includes comprehensive data for sales and underlying forecast assumptions for the consumer and fleet markets.
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