The hierarchy of Japanese automakers in the United States has been unchanged for more than 25 years, with Toyota in the lead, followed at some distance by Honda and Nissan.
However, things are about to change in the next couple of years. No, Toyota won’t lose its No. 1 spot, but Nissan is likely to overtake Honda.
With its wider range of vehicles, more popular styling and aggressive discounting, Nissan is catching up with Honda and in the next couple of years may pass its competitor in US car sales for the first time since 1987.
“I’m sure that we will overtake Honda. How long is it going to take us? Time will tell, but it’s going to happen,” Jose Munoz, the chairman of Nissan North America, told Reuters. The executive added that Nissan is targeting a 10 percent market share in the US by 2016.
The automaker’s share in the first seven months of this year was 8.6 percent, up from 7.4 percent in 2009. Honda, however, has seen its share slip to 9.1 percent from a peak of 11 percent in 2009. Its current market share is the lowest since 2006. Leader Toyota currently has approximately 15 percent of the market.
Honda relies heavily on the Accord, the Civic and the CR-V crossover in the US, with the three models accounting for 69 percent of the company’s sales in the country this year.
As for Nissan, its top three sellers, the Altima (pictured), Sentra and Rogue make up 52 percent of the automaker’s US sales. This is consistent with Nissan’s broader strategy of diversification, as the company sells 27 models in the US, compared to Honda’s 16 models.
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