Based on figures released this week, in January 2009 automobile sales in the US declined by about 37 percent compared to January 2008, to 656,881 vehicles. This reflects US automakers' worst monthly performance since June 1982.
Regarding individual company sales, Chrysler posted the largest monthly sales decline from a year ago, with a 55 percent decrease in January 2009 sales compared to the same month of 2008. General Motors' sales declined about 49 percent in year-over-year comparisons, and Ford, who recorded the lowest monthly sales decline percentage of the Big Three, registered a still-significant decline of nearly 42 percent from the previous January.
On the import side, Toyota, American Honda, and Nissan all experienced sales declines from January 2008, of 32 percent, 28 percent and 30 percent respectively.
However, Hyundai and Subaru both posted an increase in sales from January 2008, of about 9 percent and 8 percent respectively.
The number of automobiles sold in the US is now estimated to drop by 21 percent in 2009 from 2008, to about 10 million vehicles per annum. This compares to the estimated 16.15 million automobiles were sold in the US in 2007 and the 13.2 million sold in 2008.