General Motors' U.S. auto sales dropped to 173,007, a 34% delince, but the company said it managed to increase its market share marginally in a down market.
"From a retail standpoint, GM and the industry continued at about the same selling rate as February and March," said Mark LaNeve, vice president for GM's North American sales and marketing. "We see that stabilization, along with a firming up of our fleet business and improvement in Silverado and Sierra sales, as an encouraging sign."
While GM's sales were down significantly compared with April 2008, the automaker noted that total volume was up 11% compared with March.
Sales for the year to date were down 45% to 585,910 compared with the first four months of 2008.
GM's total truck and sport utility vehicle sales of 102,032 were down 28% and car sales of 71,775 were off 41% compared with a year ago.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
