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GM's Market Share Declines A Bit; Ford Beats Estimates

General Motors' market share has slipped to levels below the company's turnaround goals in the past couple of months, following its stronger-than-expected emergence from bankruptcy, Tim Higgins reports. He cites Toyota's high incentives, recalls of the Chevrolet Cobalt, the elimination of Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands, and about 2,000 planned dealership closings as contributing factors in the shortfall.

The company has made gains with the four U.S. brands it is keeping, however, and remains confident. "We've got a plan and we're sticking to it," says spokesman Tom Henderson.

GM's turnaround plan is predicated on a U.S. market share of 18% to 18.5% in 2010. It was 17.6% in March and 18.1% in February, following a strong showing of 21% in January, according to Autodata. GM says it will not resort to heavy incentives to improve market-share numbers. "Our goal is to earn market share profitability over the long term by bringing great cars to the market like we've been doing," Henderson says.

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Ford, meanwhile, posted first-quarter earnings of $2.1 billion this morning, beating analysts' estimates, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek's Keith Naughton. It has been boosting profit by paring discounts while selling new models with more options that fetch higher prices.

Read the whole story at Detroit Free Press, Bloomberg BusinessWeek »

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