GM reported a sales decline of almost 13 percent for the month while Ford's sales slumped 7 percent, Chrysler L.L.C.'s tumbled 14 percent, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s fell 3 percent. It was expected to be a difficult month for automakers as consumer confidence continued to slide. Declines in home construction also hurt truck sales.
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. bucked the trend, posting a 5 percent increase in U.S. sales as booming sales of its small cars and crossovers picked up the slack from its slumping Ridgeline pickup and luxury sedans. The subcompact Honda Fit saw sales jump 62 percent.
GM said its sales decline was led by a 19 percent drop in sales of trucks and SUVs. Sales of Chevrolet full-size pickups were down 29 percent for the month.
GM said the comparison with last February was a tough one, because retail sales hit a high mark for the year in February 2007.
Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for North American sales and marketing, said that while a weeklong strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. had idled some GM plants, the company has enough inventory of trucks and SUVs to last at least 60 to 90 days.
Toyota said its car sales fell 4 percent while its truck sales were flat for the month. The aging Avalon full-size sedan was down 30 percent compared with last February. Toyota saw particular weakness in its luxury Lexus division, where sales of its flagship LS 460 sedan fell 25 percent for the month.
Ford said sales of its crossovers were brisk in February, but buyers shunned its large sedans and SUVs. Combined sales of Ford's largest SUVs were down 22 percent in February. Ford's car sales dropped 9 percent while truck sales fell 5 percent.
Chrysler said its car sales rose 9 percent, largely on the strength of small cars such as the Dodge Caliber subcompact, which was up 10 percent for the month, and the mid-size Dodge Avenger, which rose 60 percent. But its truck sales fell 22 percent. Chrysler's newly redesigned Dodge Caravan minivan was down a disappointing 32 percent for the month.
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said its sales rose 1 percent thanks to a strong showing by its Versa subcompact. Like other automakers, Nissan also reported strong crossover sales, with its recently redesigned Murano up 6 percent. Ford's Edge crossover gained 46 percent for the month, while GM's GMC Acadia rose 33 percent.
