Ford, Nissan Sales Tick Up In October, Chrysler Down

November 3, 2009 1:58 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - Two of three auto makers reported an uptick in October sales after sliding in September in the wake of the end of the cash for clunkers program.

Ford Motor Co. and Nissan both had improvements, while Chrysler reported a serious drop.

Ford sales rose 2.6 percent to 136,920 vehicles, countering a 5.1 percent drop in September. In the same period in 2008, Ford sold 132,838. Nissan said it sold 60,115 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, up from 56,945.

It was the second day of positive news from Ford. On Monday, the automaker said it made a profit of $997 million in the third quarter.

Chrysler sales fell 30 percent from a year ago to 65,803. In October 2008, the company, now owned by Fiat, sold 94,530 vehicles. Sales of Chrysler brand autos dropped 36 percent, while Jeep sales fell 37 percent, and Dodge brand sales declined 22 percent.

General Motors and Toyota will report October sales later Tuesday afternoon.

Industry-wide sales dropped 23 percent in September after the federal rebate program ended in late August. At a seasonally adjusted annual rate, October sales were 10.3 million cars and trucks. Last year, the rate was 10.6 million a year.