For the month of March, GM’s sales were down a staggering 19.2% on last year’s result. Ford didn’t fare much better, its sales dipping by 14% compared to the same period last year. Rounding out the trio was Chrysler, whose sales also fell by a significant 19% from March levels of just one year ago.
Foreign brands, including market leader Toyota, also saw sales levels drop for the month of March. Toyota’s sales dropped 10%, while Nissan and Honda fared slightly better with falls of just 4 and 3% respectively.
Sales in Japan, meanwhile, have dropped to their lowest levels in 33 years, reports Thomson Financial. Sales of new cars, trucks and buses, excluding minicars, fell 4.5% to 3.43 million for the year ending March 31, the lowest since March 1975. Blame is being centered on rising petrol prices as well as a general fall in interest for new cars, especially amongst Japan’s youth.
Industry experts are expecting the following months to be just as bad although carmakers are hopeful that a new federal economic stimulus package will help boost the U.S. economy and in turn help motivate other markets around the globe.