Ford Motor Co.

Toyota’s current recall woes could mean a big increase in the United States for Ford Motor Company in 2010.  While the year is still young, initial figures predict that Ford will sell 16.57 percent.  Toyota, on the other hand, is expected to lose more than a percent on its sales, dropping down to 16.45 percent.  This would mean that Ford would overtake Toyota as the number 2 automaker for the first time since 2007.

Though there are still 10 months left in 2010, the numbers for January and February definitely represent Ford’s upward momentum.  Ford’s January numbers were 2.5 percent higher than they were a year ago, rising to 16.7 percent.  Even more dramatic is the rise in Ford’s share for February.  They are currently averaging a 16 percent market share, which is 11 percent more than usual.  On the other hand, Toyota’s January numbers fell to 14.1 percent, the lowest they’ve been in four years.

Ford isn’t the only company that stands to gain from Toyota’s recent problems.  General Motors’ market share stands to jump from 17.87 to 18.12 percent, keeping their spot as the number one U.S. automaker firmly in place.  Honda is also predicted to gain a modest amount of the market, going from 11.14 to 11.32 percent, though these numbers don’t take into consideration their recent recall of 379,000 more cars due to airbag issues.