General Motors Q3 Auto Sales Fall 11 Percent

October 29, 2008 2:21 p.m. EST

Detroit, MI (AHN) - General Motors reported Wednesday an 11 percent drop in worldwide auto sales during the third quarter. Sales in the U.S. were especially weak, down 18.9 percent.

The automaker had total worldwide sales of 2.11 million automobiles, down from 2.39 million in the same period last year.

A weak third quarter further hurt GM's bid to remain the worlds top automaker by sales. Toyota sold 2.24 million automobiles in the third quarter, a 4 percent decline from last year.

For the first nine months are the year, GM has sold 6.66 million autos, an 18 percent drop from last year, compared to Toyota's 7.06 million. GM sales in the U.S. were weakest but Europe saw a large decline as well, down 12.3 percent.

"The recent challenges in the global financial markets, including credit tightening and the drop in commodity prices, have negatively impacted market demand," said Jonathan Browning, head of GM's global sales, service and marketing division, according to MarketWatch.

The company saw some strength in Latin America and Africa with sales rising 3.4 percent. The Asia-Pacific region posted 2.6 percent sales growth. The Cadillac brand was a bright spot as sales rose 39.2 percent in the region.

With U.S. sales continuing to deteriorate; sales from outside the U.S. represented 61 percent of GM total sales.

Shares of General Motors are trading 6 percent higher to $6.65 in midday trading.