GM Sales Down 11.4% Globally

Oct. 29, 2008

More than 60% of its sales during the third quarter were outside the U.S.

General Motors said on Oct. 29 its worldwide sales fell 11.4% in the third quarter from a year ago to 2.115 million vehicles.

GMremained behind Toyota, which reported sales of 2.236 million vehicles in the quarter. GM, the longtime global leader, fell behind Toyota in the first quarter of 2008.

GM said more than 60% of its sales during the third quarter were registered outside the United States. "The U.S. market does continue to be challenging," said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's director of global market analysis. "But we're still setting records in (Asia Pacific and Latin America)," he said.

"Our market share was up half a percent in Russia. We've exceeded market growth in Latin America and we gained market share in Asia Pacific. Our drop in (market share) is concentrated in North America," he said.