Auto sales hit post-Clunker hangover

DETROIT (AP) - GM, Ford and Chrysler reported September sales declines on Thursday, revealing a tough hangover from this summer's Cash for Clunkers buying spree.

General Motors Co. reported the steepest drop, 45 percent, when compared with September of last year. Chrysler Group LLC was down 42 percent and Ford Motor Co. had a much smaller decline of 5.1 percent.

But Hyundai bucked the trend, reporting a 27-percent rise in sales last month over a year earlier.

Automakers got a big lift in July and August from clunkers, which spurred sales of nearly 700,000 new cars and trucks. The government program's big discounts lured in many customers who otherwise would have waited until later in the year to walk into dealerships.

Now automakers are starting to feel the effect. Ford sales of cars and light truck fell 5.1 percent from a year ago to 114,241, down from 120,355 in the same month last year.

Chrysler said it sold 62,197 vehicles last month, compared with 107,349 in the same month last year.

Cash for Clunkers and summertime production cuts kept inventories of popular models low during the month, but even so, Chrysler predicted its market share will rise 0.8 percentage points from August levels. The company increased factory output to replenish supplies.

"While we had some bright spots in September, it was still a challenging sales environment for the industry," Peter Fong, CEO of the Chrysler brand, said in a statement.

Sales of Ford's popular F-series trucks rose 3.5 percent, while sales of the new 2010 Taurus sedan increased more than 60 percent.

The September results fell 37.2 percent from August totals, which were boosted by the government's Cash for Clunkers program. Two of Ford's vehicles -- the Focus and Escape -- were top sellers in the program that ran during July and August and offered big discounts to buyers.

Sales of the Focus fell 64.1 percent from August, when Ford sold 25,547 of the small, fuel efficient cars. The company sold 9,182 in September.

The Escape crossover posted a month-over-month sales decline of 58.5 percent, with Ford selling 8,692 of the vehicles last month, compared to 20,933 August sales.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker was the first of the automakers to release its monthly U.S. sales numbers on Thursday. Other automakers are expected to follow later in the day.

Volvo, which Ford intends to sell, posted a 16.3 percent increase.

Automakers sold a combined 1.3 million vehicles in August for a seasonally adjusted sales rate, or SAAR, of 14.1 million. Many analysts expect a SAAR of 9.3 million for September.

Shares of Ford fell 7 cents to $7.14 in midday trading.