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The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.

Toyota to drop regular-cab Tacoma as small pickups take another hit

Even as General Motors prepares to redesign its midsize pickups, the market for sub-fullsize trucks continues to shrink. The remaining competitors in the segment are the well-aged Nissan Frontier, Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tacoma, and now Truck Trend is reporting that the latter will be dropping its regular cab model due to poor sales.
According to the article, the available configurations for the Tacoma lineup will be whittled down in 2015, which apparently spells the end for the two-door Taco. The Tacoma is currently the last truck in its class to be offered in a regular cab configuration, with the Frontier no longer offering a standard cab model and spy shots of the next-gen Chevrolet Colorado not revealing any glimpse of a short cab, either.

Toyota may put Mirai hydrogen fuel cell powertrain into a Lexus

Toyota is hoping to define the world of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with its uniquely styled Mirai sedan in a fashion similar to the way the Prius pops into people's minds when they think of a hybrid. The Japanese automaker believes it can sell about 700 FCEVs worldwide in the first year alone and build rapidly from there to an estimated 3,000 sales in the US by 2017. Of course, not everyone is completely enamored with the Mirai's design. Toyota is rumored to have an alternative in the works to quell some of those naysayers, possibly taking flagship form with a new Lexus LS powered by fuel-cell tech. The LS FCEV could be unveiled by 2017 to sit at the very top of brand's lineup. According to an inside source speaking to the Australian website Motoring, the front end would feature larger air intakes to cool the electrical components. The fuel cell would reportedly be positioned under the front seat, and the hydrogen tanks would be located under and behind the rear seat. Somehow, Motoring claims that all of this might be lighter than the current LS600hL hybrid, to the tune about 440 pounds. The model is also claimed to offer a range of about 239 miles, just a bit shy of the Mirai's roughly 300 miles. Assuming this vehicle actually exists, the cost for buyers of this flagship would almost certainly ring up at more than the LS600hL's $120,440 base price. Autoblog has reached out to Toyota for any further info about this rumor, one way or the other. If we hear back, we'll update this story with the details. Featured Gallery 2016 Toyota Mirai View 15 Photos News Source: MotoringImage Credit: Toyota Green Rumormill Lexus Toyota Alternative Fuels Hybrid Luxury Sedan lexus ls toyota mirai rumor fcev Lexus LS600h