Major U.S. automakers continued their dismal sales performance in December, with General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) reporting more than 30% sales declines for the month, hurt by tight credit conditions and a historically low level of consumer confidence amid an economic downturn.
GM said its dealers in the United States delivered 221,983 vehicles in December, down 31.4% from 323,453 delivered in December 2007.
GM's car sales fell 24.9% to 87,506 units in December, while truck sales dropped 35% to 134,477 units.
Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing, said limited 0% financing offers in conjunction with its financial services arm GMAC and other incentives had helped push the automaker's sales up from depressed November levels.
"Given the ongoing challenges and the difficult market environment, we were very encouraged to see a volume rebound for GM in December compared with both October and November," said LaNeve.
Last month, GMAC won approval to operate as a bank holding company from federal regulators and also won a $6 billion bailout of its own.
In December, GM North America produced 249,000 vehicles, including 105,000 cars and 144,000 trucks, down 1% from December 2007 when the region produced 252,000 vehicles, including 71,000 cars and 181,000 trucks.
GM inventories dropped compared with a year ago. In December, only about 872,000 vehicles were in stock, down about 4% compared with last year. There were about 397,000 cars and 475,000 trucks, including crossovers, in inventory at the end of December.
For 2008, GM's U.S. sales fell 22.9% to 2.98 vehicles from 2.87 million vehicles in 2007. The automaker said it maintained an expected market share just above 22%, which is about five percentage points higher than its nearest competitor, Toyota.
GM's total car sales for 2008 declined 15.6% to 1.26 million units from 1.49 million units in 2007, while total truck sales dipped 27.5% to 1.72 million units from 2.38 million units in 2007.
GM, which had warned that it was within days of running short of cash by end December, was given the first $4 billion of bridge loans approved by the Bush administration just before the end of the year.
GM on Monday lowered its North America first quarter production forecast to 420,000 vehicles, including 143,000 cars and 277,000 trucks, from its prior forecast of 600,000 vehicles, including 235,000 cars and 365,000 trucks. In the first-quarter of 2008, GM North America built 885,000 vehicles, including 360,000 cars and 525,000 trucks.
Among other automakers reporting U.S. sales Monday, Toyota Motor said its December U.S. dropped 36.7% to 141,949 vehicles from 224,399 vehicles in December 2007.
Sales in Toyota Division fell 37.5% to 118,587 units in December from 189,844 units a year ago. Lexus Division posted December sales of 23,362 units, down 32.4% from 34,555 units in the prior year period.
For 2008, Toyota's U.S. sales fell 15.7% to 2.22 million vehicles from 2.62 million vehicles in 2007. Toyota Division sales declined 14.9% to 1.96 million vehicles in 2008, while Lexus Division sales dropped 21.2% to 260,087 vehicles.
Last month, Toyota slashed its fiscal 2009 earnings forecast drastically and said it now expects an operating loss, which would be its first annual operating loss in 70 years.
Ford, which was displaced by Toyota as No.2 U.S. automaker in 2007, said Monday it sold 139,067 vehicles in December, down 32.4% from 205,685 vehicles sold in the same month in 2007. For November, the automaker had reported a 30.6% drop in U.S. vehicle sales.
Total sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles fell 31.7% to 134,114 units in December from 196,344 a year ago. Volvo sales plunged 47% year over year to 4,953 units.
In the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands, car sales fell 26.4% year over year to 43,087 units in December, while crossover utility sales, which include Ford Escape, Edge and Flex, dipped 31.8% to 25,822 units and SUV sales dropped 51.8% to 10,910 units. Truck and van sales slipped 29.7% to 54,295 units.
Sales of Ford's F-Series truck, America's best selling vehicle for 31 years in a row, fell 24.5% to 41,580 units in December from 55,069 units in the same month last year. The lucrative truck market has been particularly hard hit by the continued downturn in the U.S. home-construction market. The all-new F-150 accounted for 8,600 of total F-Series sales in December, an increase of 84% from the previous month.
For 2008, Ford's total vehicle sales declined 20.7% to 1.99 million units from 2.51 million units in 2007. Thus, Ford trailed Toyota in U.S. vehicles sales for the second consecutive year.
Total sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles fell 20.2% to 1.92 million units in 2008 from $2.40 million units in 2007. Volvo sales dropped 31.2% to 73,102 units in 2008.
Ford was the only one of the Big Three automakers that didn't seek part of the $17.4 billion in U.S. government auto-bailout funds that recently were committed to GM and Chrysler.
The U.S. market continues to be difficult for every automaker, with consumer confidence weak and 2008 sales expected to be the lowest in more than a decade. However, it is most difficult for the Detroit Three, who have relied more heavily on sales of trucks and SUVs, than their foreign counterparts.
According to a report from J.D. Power and Associates released in October, the auto industry could "collapse" outright in 2009.
GM shares closed Monday's regular trading session at $3.71, up 6 cents or 1.64%, while Ford shares closed the day's regular trading session at $2.58, up 12 cents or 4.88%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.