General Motors posted a 5-per cent gain in US sales for August last night, bucking a downtrend for the embattled industry linked to a weaker housing market and a shakeout in subprime lending.
Overall, US auto sales slipped by just under 1 per cent in August, a smaller decline than some analysts forecast as discount programs at GM and other major automakers helped spur sales in the face of slack demand.
GM took nearly 26 per cent of the US vehicle market in August, its highest market share of the year, as it stepped up discounting on its full-size pickup trucks, a key product segment.
Rivals Ford, Toyota and Chrysler all posted sales declines, as industry-wide sales extended a slump that took hold in the second quarter.
Among the top six manufacturers, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor posted sales gains that were accompanied by higher incentives.
Toyota, which remains on track to overtake Ford as second-largest automaker in the United States this year, saw its US August sales fall almost 3 per cent.
That marked the second consecutive monthly sales drop for Toyota, the first such decline since early 2003, although it again outsold Ford.
"We were surprised to see Toyota fall 3 per cent," said Christopher Richter, a Tokyo-based analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.
"But what was more interesting was they bravely cut incentives - by $170 from July to August. That's a pretty gutsy move," he said, adding that could mean profitability improved last month despite a fall in sales volume.