New York —- U.S. light vehicle sales at General Motors and Chrysler plunged more than 40 percent in November, while Ford’s sales dropped 31 percent, battered by an economic storm that has sent consumer demand for new vehicles to the lowest level in more than 26 years.

GM’s sales fell 41 percent in figures reported Tuesday, while Chrysler’s dropped 47 percent. Their overseas rivals posted abysmal results, as well. Toyota’s November U.S. sales tumbled 34 percent, while Nissan’s dropped 42 percent and Honda’s fell 32 percent.

Automakers sold 746,789 vehicles in the United States in November. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for the month was 10.18 million, compared with 16.07 million a year earlier. That is the lowest level since October 1982, according to Autodata Corp.

Like retailers of other big-ticket items, automakers have taken a beating in recent months as worries about the economy and unemployment have prompted consumers to slash spending. At the same time, some people afraid they won’t qualify for credit or that it will be too costly have put purchases on hold.

On Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research said the United States entered a recession in December 2007, much earlier than most predictions.

Many analysts had expected November sales to improve slightly from the previous month’s 25-year low, noting that aggressive incentives and a plunge in gasoline prices may have put a floor under sales. But U.S. vehicle sales fell 11 percent from October, according to Autodata.

Chrysler LLC said its November sales decline included a 59 percent decrease in demand for cars and a 42 percent decline in truck sales. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker said the drops were partly a result of a 63 percent decline in fleet sales. Excluding such sales, Chrysler said its November sales fell 36 percent.

GM reported a 44 percent drop in demand for cars, while light truck sales dropped 39 percent.

Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market analysis, blamed the Detroit automaker’s sharp sales decline on the global economic crisis and the credit squeeze.

“What we are facing is not a General Motors problem; what we are facing is an industry problem,” DiGiovanni said in a conference call. “We are seeing further deterioration in the industry into November.”

DiGiovanni said the U.S. auto industry was in a worse state of recession than the broader economy, “and some might say bordering on a depression.”

Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co.’s group vice president of marketing, said he expects the industry to post continued year-over-year sales declines until at least the second half of 2009.

“We could see some strengthening in the second half of next year, or at least some stabilization, albeit at a much lower level,” Farley said in a conference call with analysts and reporters.

“The talk of the bailouts and the bankruptcies and all the uncertainty and job loss has obviously done little to bolster consumer confidence,” Farley said.

 Associated Press 
AUTO SALES CRASH
Major automakers reported double-digit declines in U. S. sales in November, the industry's lowest level in more than 26 years. 

Change in the number of vehicles sold in November from the same month a year ago
-31%: Ford
-32%: Honda
-34%: Toyota 
-41%: GM 
-42%: Nissan
-47%: Chrysler  
Source: The companies