U.S. Auto Sales Better than Terrible for Ford, General Motors

(MoneyWatch)  U.S. auto sales in October were almost precisely flat versus the year-ago month, much better than the average monthly sales performance this year, but that good news comes with a big asterisk, because the year-ago month was easy to beat.

Overall, U.S. auto sales for October 2009 were 838,052, down fewer than 100 units from the year-ago month, according to AutoData Corp. AutoData rounded that off to a zero-percent change.

Flat sales represent an improvement, because year-to-date after 10 months, U.S. auto sales were down 25.4 percent or nearly 3 million units from the year-ago period, to about 8.7 million.

The October results are only relatively good news because a year ago, the reality of the U.S. recession was just kicking in. At the time, October 2008 was the worst month for per-capita auto sales since World War II, according to General Motors.

October 2009 sales also represented a bit of a rebound from September, following a spike in August inspired by the U.S. government Cash for Clunkers program. If October sales had been worse, it could have been a sign that the payback from "Clunkers" would be deep and persistent.

In October 2009, GM sales were 5.6 percent ahead of the year-ago month. GM said that was the first year-over-year improvement in its monthly sales in 21 months.

Ford (F) sales were also up in October, 2.8 percent higher than the year-ago month. That makes three out of the last four months that Ford sales beat the year-ago month, the company said. Ford earlier this week reported net income of almost $1 billion for the third quarter, beating most analysts' forecasts.

Chrysler sales fell 30.4 percent for the month. Toyota (TM) sales were almost exactly flat, like the market overall. Honda (HMC) sales were down less than 1 percent. Nissan (NSANY.PK) was up 5.6 percent.

Hyundai (HYMLF.PK) and Kia (KIMTF.PK) continued a run at higher U.S. market share. Hyundai sales were 48.9 percent higher than the year-ago month. Kia sales gained 45.3 percent. Hyundai and Kia are making the most of a bunch of new models, plus a brand image that's associated with inexpensive cars. That has helped the South Korean brands in the recession.

Chart: AutoData, Bnet Autos