NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Toyota Motor’s sales tumbled 16% from a year ago in January, hit by the recall of its most popular models due to its widely-publicized problem with sticking gas pedals.
Sales tracker Edmunds.com had forecast a year-over-year drop of 12%. Sales plummeted 47% from December.
Rival automakers generally reported improved sales compared to last year’s weak demand, although most will also likely fall short of December sales levels.
Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) posted a 24% rise in sales compared to a year ago, enough to pass Toyota at least temporarily as the No. 2 automaker in terms of U.S. sales, behind only General Motors.
Last month, Toyota ™ recalled more than 3 million vehicles due to gas pedal problems which caused sudden, uncontrolled acceleration.
On Jan. 26, Toyota suspended sales of the eight recalled models, losing much of the final week’s worth of sales. Affected models include the Camry sedan, the Corolla compact and the Rav4 SUV, which are the company’s three best-selling vehicles in the U.S.
But sales of the numerous Toyota models not covered by the recall, such as the Sienna minivan and the Tacoma pickup, also tumbled. Sales at its luxury Lexus brand improved, but sales fell at its entry-level Scion brand. Neither of those brands were affected by the recall.
While the company announced Monday it found a way to fix the problem, it will only slowly start selling those models again as it performs the fix on each vehicle on dealer lots.
Many experts believe the damage caused to Toyota’s reputation for quality vehicles will have a lingering effect on its sales, possibly causing its first drop in U.S. market share since 1994.
A survey by Kelley Blue Book of people planning to purchase a car found that 21% of those who were considering Toyota before the recall no longer are looking at the brand, although 43% of those who have soured on the brand said they’ll reconsider once they see how the solution to the recall plays out.