GM's U.S. sales plunge 45 percent in October

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp on Monday reported a whopping 45 percent slide in U.S. sales, blaming the steep decline on low consumer confidence stemming from the uncertainty over a deepening credit crisis.

GM also announced its will roll out its annual year-end "Red Tag" sales promotion on Tuesday, ahead of its typical mid-November schedule.

GM said it sold 170,585 vehicles in October, down from 310,008 a year earlier. GM truck sales were down 51 percent while car sales were off 34 percent.

Mark LaNeve, GM's North American sales chief, said the collapse in the U.S. market was linked to the "unprecedented credit crunch that is dramatically impacting the entire U.S. economy -- from the housing market to big and small companies to banks to family run businesses.

"The credit freeze has also had a very negative impact on consumers' confidence and their purchase behavior across America," he said in a statement.

GM said it had about 799,000 vehicles in inventory at the end of the month, down about 146,000 vehicles, or 15 percent, from a year before.

The inventory was comprised of about 336,000 cars and 463,000 trucks, the company said.

GM reaffirmed its fourth-quarter production target at 875,000 vehicles, including 407,000 cars and 468,000 trucks. The targeted production is 16 percent lower than a year ago.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)