Tanking

DETROIT - Chrysler's December U.S. sales plunged more than half, and the automaker sold 30 percent fewer vehicles in 2008, dwarfing the steep declines at the other major automakers amid consumer uncertainty about the economy and their jobs.

Chrysler L.L.C. said yesterday that its sales last month dropped 53 percent because of the recession and fewer fleet sales, while Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 37 percent slide, and Honda Motor Co. said its sales tumbled 35 percent.

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 32 percent in December. General Motors Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. both posted 31 percent declines.

Ford's sales for 2008 fell 21 percent from a year earlier, keeping the Dearborn automaker in third place in the U.S. auto-sales race, falling behind Toyota for the second straight year.

Toyota's 2008 sales fell 16 percent to 2.22 million, compared with Ford's 1.98 million. Detroit-based GM's 2008 sales totaled 2.95 million, down 23 percent from the year before. Honda's 2008 sales fell 8 percent.

Subaru of America Inc., whose headquarters are in Cherry Hill, said its U.S. sales crept higher in 2008, making the Japanese company likely to be the only major automaker with a yearly sales increase. Subaru's U.S. sales rose 0.3 percent to 187,699 vehicles from 187,208 in 2007, as consumers snapped up its top-selling Forester and Impreza models.

Chrysler's December sales totaled 89,813 vehicles, compared with 191,423 in the year-ago month. Despite the plunge, the recent month's sales represented a 5 percent increase over November levels. The Auburn Hills, Mich., carmaker said the December drop included a 63 percent decrease in fleet sales.

The sales slump continues to mean good deals for consumers.

And one automaker, Hyundai Motor America, is trying to woo skittish buyers by promising to let them return cars free for up to a year if they lose their jobs and can't make the payments.

John Krafcic, president of Hyundai Motor America, said traditional incentive spending in the fourth quarter was about half as effective industrywide compared with the same quarter in 2007.

"We needed to think about turning some other knobs to turn sales," he said. "This is all about fear."

Similar bold moves might be necessary. IHS Global Insight predicts that U.S. sales will drop from 13 million in 2008 to 10.3 million this year as the economy continues to sputter.

Aaron Bragman, automotive-marketing research analyst for IHS Global Insight in Troy, Mich., said the sales drops were not unique to the U.S.-based automakers and encompassed the entire domestic market.

Toyota said it sold 141,949 vehicles in December, down from 224,399 a year earlier. Sales of the Prius hybrid dropped 45 percent as gas prices fell from record highs in July.

Honda sold 86,085 vehicles last month, down from 131,792 a year earlier, but up from 76,233 in November.

Nissan sold 62,102 vehicles - including Infiniti models - in the United States compared with 89,555 in December 2007. For 2008, Nissan U.S. sales dropped 11 percent.