GM vehicle sales down by 10% in 2008

U.S. automaker General Motors announced today that worldwide sales of GM vehicles fell 10.8% in 2008, making Toyota Motor Corp. now the world leader in auto sales. GM sold 8.36 million vehicles last year, putting it about 616,000 units behind the 8.97 million reported by Toyota. Before this morning’s sales announcement, GM defined itself on its Web site as “the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years.” Car sales worldwide fell dramatically in the final quarter of 2008 as a financial crisis that forced most automakers to slash production took its toll worldwide. GM’s fourth-quarter sales dropped 26.2 percent.

In the United States, the single-biggest market for Toyota and GM, GM tumbled 22.7 percent last year, while Toyota was down 15.4 percent.  GM currently received federal loan money to keep it from bankruptcy, and has until March to develop a reorganization plan that will lead to profitability again. Meanwhile, the economic crisis that is causing the drop in sales continues to deepen.