Another bad month for the auto industry:
DETROIT — Vehicle sales in the United States tumbled to multi-decade lows in October as tightened credit markets and an economic slowdown kept consumers away from dealerships.
The General Motors Corporation reported a 45 percent decline on Monday in October sales compared with the month a year ago, and the Ford Motor Company said it sold 30.2 percent fewer cars and trucks.
Toyota Motor said its sales were 23 percent lower, despite offering no-interest financing and large discounts on many models. Light truck sales fell 34 percent and autos fell 15 percent.
“If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst industry sales month in the post-World War II era,” Mark LaNeve, G.M.’s vice president for sales in North America, said in a statement. “We believe there is considerable pent-up demand from the last three years, but until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer.”
G.M. said it would begin its year-end “red tag” sale on Tuesday, a month sooner than usual, while Ford indicated that it planned to cut production of cars and crossover vehicles after its sales in those segments fell 27.1 percent and 37.1 percent.
Ford and other manufacturers rushed to increase car and crossover production earlier this year as truck sales plummeted but now find inventories of those vehicles growing as the entire market declines.
Also sales fell 33 percent at Nissan and 25.2 percent at Honda. Sales were down 31 percent at Hyundai and 25 percent at Mercedes. Volkswagen, which introduced several new models in October, reported a 7.9 percent decline.
Looks like those estimates of a really bad year for Detroit might just come true.
