U.S. auto sales plunged in December

DETROIT, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. auto companies reported plunging auto sales in December with Detroit's Big Three claiming sales at least 30 percent below December 2007.

Sales at General Motors Corp. fell 31 percent with 220,030 new vehicles sold in the month, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Sales were down 53 percent at Chrysler LLC.

Chrysler and GM negotiated federal loans totaling $17.4 billion during the month, and have plans to downsize dramatically to return to profitability.

Sales at Ford Motor Co., which did not accept a government loan, fell 32 percent on 138,325 vehicles sold, while U.S. Toyota Motor Co. sales fell 37 percent.

Ford's head of marketing Jim Farley found a silver lining in the numbers, noting the company moved up in market share for the third straight month.

"This is a strong ending to ... a very challenging year," he said.