GM down, Honda up and Ford, Toyota flat in mixed Nov. for U.S. sales

DETROIT — Automakers reported mixed U.S. sales results for November on Monday, with some new or more fuel-efficient models performing well despite consumer malaise over high gas prices and the weak economy.

General Motors Corp., the biggest automaker by U.S. sales, said its sales dropped 11 percent, hurt by falling demand for trucks as well as cuts in sales to rental car fleets. Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. both reported flat sales for the month. Honda Motor Co.'s sales were up 5 percent while Nissan Motor Co.'s sales rose 6 percent.

"Rising fuel prices and sliding home values delivered a one-two punch this month," Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota's U.S. sales arm, said in a statement. "But the industry's not down for the count. Demand for fresh, more fuel-efficient products continues to show strength."

GM's truck sales fell 15 percent, a casualty of the slowing pace of new home construction, while car sales declined 4 percent. GM said it also cut sales to rental fleets by 29 percent compared with last November. GM's sales were down 6 percent for the first 11 months of the year.

Ford's November results ended a yearlong string of year-over-year losses as it cut back on low-profit sales to rental car companies. Ford said its car sales fell 2 percent but truck sales rose 2 percent, largely on the strength of the Ford Escape small sport utility vehicle and Ford Edge crossover. Sales of the newly redesigned Ford Focus jumped 18 percent. Ford's sales dropped 12 percent for the first 11 months of the year.

Toyota continued its drive to overtake Ford this year as the No. 2 automaker, outselling Ford by nearly 15,000 vehicles. Toyota's sales were flat for the month compared with last November, with a 4 percent increase in car sales — including a 109 percent jump for the hybrid Prius — offset by a 5 percent drop in sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles. Toyota's sales increased 4 percent for the year.

Honda's car sales rocketed up nearly 20 percent on the strength of the new Accord sedan and the subcompact Fit, which saw sales double over last November. But the automaker's truck sales fell 11 percent. Honda's sales rose 3 percent for the first 11 months of the year.

Nissan said its sales rose largely on the strength of the new Rogue crossover and the Versa subcompact, which saw sales surge 67 percent. Nissan's car sales increased 11 percent, but truck sales were flat. Nissan's sales rose 6 percent for the January-November period.

Other automakers were to release their results later Monday.

The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages adjusted for sales days. There were 25 sales days last month and 25 in November 2006.

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On the Net:

Ford Motor Co.: www.ford.com

General Motors Corp.: www.gm.com

Honda Motor Co., www.honda.com

Nissan Motor Co.: www.nissanusa.com

Toyota Motor Corp.: www.toyota.com