Ford Motor Company (F): The Race To Be Aware Of

What are Toyota and Honda doing?

In April, both companies had their sales falling from year ago levels for Camry and Accord, respectively. The former has witnessed a 14% decline, while it was a 5% drop for the latter.

Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) is still is holding on to its strategy of lower incentives for Accord despite the lower sales volumes. But Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) has relented. According to Edmunds.com, Camrys sold for an average price of $21,336 in April, which is about $2,700 lower than last year. The company is also offering 0% financing on its 2013 Camry.

Like all other Japanese exporters, Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) and Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) are presently reaping the rewards of an aggressive currency devaluation strategy adopted by the Japanese government. Both companies have guided for over a 40% increase in their profits in the current fiscal year.

Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) has doubled its profits in the recently reported fourth quarter, owing to the tripling of profits from Japan. For the full year it earned around $10.22 billion on revenue of $234.33 billion.

Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) put up a more restrained performance in the fourth quarter, growing its earnings by around 5.8%. But, annual earnings grew by a whopping 73.6% to $3.9 billion on 24.3% higher revenue of $96.7 billion.

Looking ahead

The mid-size section makes up the largest chunk of the US auto industry and often comprises the bread and butter business for auto manufacturers. Thus, the performance of the auto manufacturers in this critical segment has a huge bearing on their future prospects. The Ford Fusion is doing very well and may finally emerge victorious in the mid-size race. This will act as a solid catalyst for future growth.

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