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US car sales tumble in September

(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-10-02 10:09

US automakers sold fewer than a million new vehicles in September, as a reeling American economy scared shoppers away from car showrooms, and many potential buyers were unable to get loans from the banks.

New cars sit in the lot at the Boston Autoport, which handles automobile import, processing and distribution for approximately 50,000 cars per year, in Boston, Massachusetts July 1, 2008.US automakers sold fewer than a million new vehicles in September, as a reeling American economy scared shoppers away from car showrooms, and many potential buyers were unable to get loans from the banks. [Agencies]

With sales dropping 26.6 percent compared with a year ago, car companies are likely to cut more production and jobs to compensate for slumping revenues.

The financial crisis is believed to have contributed heavily to the steep decline -- some said the credit crunch cost the industry up to 100,000 vehicle sales in September, on top of lost sales because of high gas prices and the shaky American economy.

Nearly every automaker posted double-digit declines. Sales were down 34.5 percent at Ford, 32.8 percent at Chrysler, 32.3 percent at Toyota. G.M. sales dropped 15.6 percent, possibly helped by employee pricing deals offered to all consumers.

Over all, the industry sold about 964,000 vehicles in September compared with 1.31 million in the same month last year.

"This is the worst point we have seen in 15 years," said Jesse Toprak, head of industry analysis for the automotive Website Edmunds.com. "And it is likely to be even worse in the month of October."

"There’s no question this is an automotive recession," said Erich Merkle, an analyst at the accounting and consulting firm Crowe Horwath in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Tighter lending practices by banks have prevented countless consumers from getting loans to buy new vehicles. At Toyota, the year-to-year sales drop was the worst the Japanese automaker has experienced in the United States in 20 years.

Executives at the Detroit automakers declined to say whether they were planning further production cuts in the fourth quarter to balance the shrinking demand.

But analysts said further cuts and reorganization moves appeared inevitable.