Ford U.S. sales fall 32.4 percent in December

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Monday its U.S. auto sales fell 32.4 percent in December, including all of its brands, as the U.S. auto industry suffered pressure from the downturn in the U.S. economy.

Total sales fell to 139,067 vehicles in December from 205,685 a year earlier, with sales of the main Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands falling 31.7 percent and sales of its Volvo brand down 47 percent.

Ford said on Friday it expected U.S. industry sales to be down about 35 percent in December and expected its own sales to be only slightly better than that.

Ford's 2008 sales fell 20.7 percent to 1,988,376 vehicles.

For the main Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands, U.S. car sales were down 26.4 percent in December, crossover sales down 31.8 percent, SUV sales down 51.8 percent, and truck and van sales down 33.9 percent.

Ford said it estimated its market share was up 0.7 percentage point in December to 14.6 percent from a year earlier, marking a third consecutive increase for the first time since 1997.

(Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Andre Grenon)