DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Ford Motor Co. (F) posted a 32% drop in U.S. light-vehicle sales for December while Toyota Motor Co. (TM) reported a 37% drop and Honda Motor Co. (HMC) had a 35% decline, closing out the auto industry's worst year in more than 15 years and ahead of was it expected to be an even weaker 2009.

The grim numbers underscore how matters went from bad to worse in 2008 for auto makers as jittery consumers stayed out of showrooms.

As sales plunged, the Detroit Three - Ford, General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC - had to ask Congress for government loans to avert financial disaster. Washington agreed to a $17.4 billion loan package for GM and Chrysler under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. (Ford has since said it doesn't currently need government loans.)

But the entire industry, including Japan's Toyota and Honda, is now reeling from the spiraling effects of the U.S. housing crisis, tight credit and worries about a lengthy recession.

Ford, however, took an optimistic view of December's results, noting that its December market share rose to 14.6%, up 0.7 pecentage point from a year ago - the first time since 1997 it had achieved a market share increase for three straight months.

"This is a strong ending to...a very challenging year," said marketing chief Jim Farley. Ford projected a fourth-quarter 15% market share for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury - beating the year-ago figure for the first time since 2001, it said.

Ford, the No. 3 U.S. auto maker by sales behind GM and Toyota, said it sold 138,325 light vehicles in December, compared with 204,446 a year earlier. There were 26 selling days in December, the same as a year earlier.

Retail sales for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands fell 27%. Improving retail sales is central to Ford's restructuring plan as the company cuts back fleet sales to focus on higher-margin sales to dealerships. Fleet sales fell 42%, including a 57% decline in daily rental sales.

For 2008, Ford's sales fell 21% to 1.98 million vehicles. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury retail sales fell 22%, with fleet sales down 17%, including a 22% reduction in daily rental sales.

The trio's car sales fell 26% to 43,087 in December, while truck and van sales fell 30% to 54,295 amid a 25% drop for the F-series pickup. SUV sales slumped 52%.

Sales of the Edge "crossover" vehicle - designed to look and function like an SUV but boasting modestly better fuel economy - fell 57%. The Focus, once a hot-selling small car, saw a 17% decrease.

At Toyota, sales fell to 141,949, with similar declines recorded among cars, trucks and SUVs. The company's decline for the year was 16% to 2.22 million.

Meanwhile, Honda's sales totaled 86,085 for the month. For 2008, sales fell to 1.42 million from 1.55 million.

GM and Chrysler will report their December sales figures later this afternoon.

In recent trading, Ford shares were up 4.1% at $2.56 while Honda dropped 1.3% to $21.53 and Toyota fell 16 cents to $66.21.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658; mike.barris@dowjones.com

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