The major automobile makers posted further sales declines in April on Friday, punctuating a brutal week for an industry that saw one of its largest companies plunge into bankruptcy and signs that a similar fate awaits its biggest U.S. player.
Chrysler, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday and signed a deal to hand over its management to Fiat, reported Friday that its U.S. vehicle sales plunged 48 percent in April from a year ago.
The Auburn Hills, Mich., company sold 76,682 cars, truck and SUVs during the period, a number depressed by a large reduction in fleet sales to rental car companies and government agencies as Chrysler attempts to focus on the consumer market.
As bad as the numbers looked, Chrysler President Jim Press said they were still "well above expectations, which shows the real strength of our dealers and products in the marketplace."
General Motors Corp., which is trying to avoid bankruptcy as it faces a government-set restructuring deadline of June 1, said that its sales fell 34 percent to 173,007 in April compared with a year ago. However, fleet sales were running about 11 percent ahead of March.
"We see that stabilization, along with a firming up of our fleet business and improvement in Silverado and Sierra sales, as an encouraging sign," said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for North American vehicle sales.
However, sales for the brands that GM said this week that it planned to sell or close - Saturn, Hummer, Saab and Pontiac - fell by 43.5 percent to 61.6 percent.
Ford Motor Co. said that its April sales dropped 32 percent from a year ago but that the company was continuing to gain market share as most other automakers faltered.
The Dearborn, Mich., company saw sales of its midsize Ford Fusion jump 22 percent from a year ago as customers shifted from trucks and sport utility vehicles to smaller automobiles. New gas and hybrid versions of the Fusion helped sales climb.
Overall, Ford sold 133,979 light vehicles domestically last month, compared with 195,665 in April 2008. Sales rose slightly - by 2,878 vehicles - from March to April, an indicator that, at least for Ford, the auto market might be starting to improve.
"We continue to operate in a very challenging economic and competitive environment," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of sales and marketing. "Especially given this external environment, we're very encouraged by the consumer response to our new mid-size sedans."
Ford has improved its share of the market to about 13 percent, he said, gaining share in the past month despite a reduction in incentives. Unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford hasn't accepted government money.
American Honda Motor Co., the U.S. division of the Japanese automaker, fared the best of the large companies. Sales fell 25.3 percent in April to 101,029. The Honda brand dropped 24.5 percent. Sales of the higher-priced Acura cars fell 32.3 percent.
"Overall sales are, by far, the highest we have seen so far this year," said John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda.
Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. said that April sales of its Toyota brand sank 42.2 percent to 112,345 from the same period a year ago. Toyota's Lexus division sold 14,195 vehicles, down 39.2 percent from a year ago.
MarketWatch contributed to this article.
