Auto sales plummet in January; Chrysler sales down 55%

For automakers, January was brutal.

Chrysler LLC reported selling less than half of the number of vehicles it sold during January 2008, with sales falling 55 percent.

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. both saw vehicle sales fall more than 40 percent last month compared to a year ago.

GM's sales fell 49 percent in January, a drop fueled by an 80 percent drop in fleet sales. Ford, meanwhile, reported vehicles sales fell 42.1 percent last month.

Toyota Motor Corp. reported sales falling 31.7 percent in January. Honda Motor Co. sales fell 27.9 percent last month.

"Two models posted gains, but we are still facing unprecedented times in the industry, and no auto company is immune from current market conditions," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of sales for American Honda.

Chrysler executives said the inability to access credit for consumers played a critical role in the bleak numbers.

"Many more consumers wanted to buy a vehicle than could qualify for financing under the current credit conditions," said Steven Landry, Chrysler's executive vice president in charge of sales and marketing.

Chrysler also reduced its less profitable fleet sales by 81 percent in January. However, the outlook remains grim.

"We saw a negative trend in December, we're seeing it again this month and we could see it for the year," Landry said.

Ford sales dropped by more than 30 percent in every category for Ford: Car sales were down 35.1 percent; crossover sales down 32.1 percent; SUV sales down 52.7 percent; and truck and van sales, down 41.6 percent.

While sales were down, Ford reported its overall market share increased for the fourth month in a row. The company estimates it held 12.7 percent of the U.S. market, up .3 percent over the same month last year. This is the first time since 1995 that Ford has seen an increase in market share for four months in a row.