US auto sales slide; Cos hope worst is over

US auto sales tumbled sharply in March, but officials with some of the companies said they hope the worst of the slump is over. March auto sales fell 35%, but a rise from February levels could suggest that the industry's 17-month slump in deliveries may be reaching a bottom. New autos sold at an annual rate of 9.86 million units, according to sales tracker Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. That beat the average estimate of 8.8 million units predicted by analysts. This was an improvement from February's 9.1 million rate, the lowest since 1981. The rate averaged 16.8 million this decade through 2007. The annual sales rate plunged to a 27-year low in February. Ford Motor said sales fell 41% from a year ago, although they were up from January and February levels. Ford, considered to be in the best financial shape of the three Detroit automakers, had been expected to post a decline of 50%. Toyota Motor said sales fell 39% and Honda Motor said sales fell 36%. General Motors (GM) said sales fell 45% in the month, while privately held Chrysler said sales fell 39%. Hyundai Motor Co. sales fell 4.8% and Kia Motors Corp. sales slid 0.6%. US market share for the domestic automakers fell to 45.2% from 49.3% a year earlier, while the Asian brands led by Toyota rose to 47.1% from 44.4%, according to Autodata. European brands, excluding Ford's Volvo and GM's Saab, climbed to 7.9% of new-vehicle sales from 6.4%.