Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp.’s 2008 U.S. sales plunged to a 49-year low, dragged down by a 31 percent plunge in December as demand was ravaged by the recession and concern that the biggest domestic automaker might collapse.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. deliveries plummeted 37 percent last month, while Honda Motor Co. slipped 35 percent, Ford Motor Co. fell 32 percent and Nissan Motor Co. was down 31 percent, pointing toward the industry’s worst annual volume since 1992.
… Ford’s annual U.S. sales sagged to a 47-year low, while GM’s total of 2.98 million was the least since 1959, according to trade publication Automotive News.
Update: Wow, Chrysler sales off 53%. We won’t be seeing those Dodge truck ads much longer — because we won’t be seeing Dodge trucks much longer.
Oh, and an old complaint with me. Why can’t the coverage of these statistics be more meaningful? How about a three or better yet five-year running average to compare sales against. Any one year or month can be an anomaly.