U.S. Auto Sales Down 32% in October 2008
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Washington DC November 4, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that the dismal U.S. auto market took a turn for the worse in October, with sales plunging by about a third as the financial crisis and tightening credit kept buyers away from showrooms.
Even compact cars have been squeezed by the credit crunch and weakening economy. Auto executives warned that the market could deteriorate further, raising the question as to when the auto industry will hit bottom.
The modest decline in U.S. economic output in the third quarter "is not likely to be the worst we will see in this cycle," Ford Motor Co. economist Emily Kolinski Morris told the Wall Street Journal.
International auto makers suffered major declines, too. Toyota Motor Corp.'s fell 23 percent to 152,101 and Honda Motor Co.'s dropped 28 percent to 85,864.
The sharp contractions came as U.S. consumer confidence fell in October to its lowest level since the Conference Board, a New York research group, began keeping records in 1967.