Big Three automakers strike out

摘要

We commonly refer to General Motors, Ford, and Daimler-Chrysler as the Big Three. But times are changing and this term may be inappropriate in the months ahead. Once considered the giants of the industry in terms of sales, innovation, and overall size, they have continued to lose market share and have fallen behind in technology. Only their size continues to dominate the marketplace. According to the latest numbers, U.S. market share for GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler fell to an unprecedented low of 58.7 percent, down from 60.2 percent in 2003, and 61.7 percent in 2002. On the other hand, Asian automakers jumped two percentage points above their 2003 market share, finishing 2004 with a 34.6 percent share of market in the U.S. That's pretty good considering that three years ago, Asian imports accounted for 30 percent of the market.