GM gains, Ford clobbered in September sales

By Kevin Krolicki

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained ground against rivals in September with a 4 percent U.S. sales increase while Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sales plunged 18 percent and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sales were off 1 percent for a third monthly decline.

Overall U.S. auto sales steadied in September after adjusting for the number of sales days. That bucked Wall Street expectations for a decline in the closely watched indicator of consumer demand, sales results released on Tuesday showed.

The adjusted 1 percent gain in industry-wide sales came despite a housing downturn and a tightening of credit blamed for driving lower income buyers out of the market for new vehicles in recent months.

"It's very difficult out there for a lot of families," said Aaron Bragman, an analyst with industry tracking firm Global Insight. "You've got high gas prices. You've the risk of foreclosures."

Led by GM, major automakers with newer products on offer did well despite the weaker economy. Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a gain of nearly 14 percent, boosted by the strong launch of its new Accord sedan.

Sales at Nissan Motor Co (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were also up 11 percent, driven in part by gains for the company's Altima Coupe in its third month on the market.

But for Toyota, now No. 2 in the U.S. market, the sales decline marked its most protracted slump since early 2003.

Ford's retail market share slipped to near the 13 percent level targeted by the company under a sweeping restructuring plan, according to data compiled by Autodata Corp.