2nd UPDATE: Auto Sales Generally Bleak Again; Ford Shines

(Updates with GM, Honda sales figures)

Annualized U.S. light vehicle sales looked to remain stubbornly below 10 million in June amid signs of improved retail business and continuing gains in other key global markets.

Ford Motor Co. (F) beat expectations with an 11% year-on-year decline while General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Chrysler LLC all lagged, with executives noting a "softening" in domestic sales at the end of the month.

Executives at Ford noted the emergence of regional variations in U.S. sales, with central regions outperforming relative weakness on both coasts.

The sharp declines at GM and Chrysler, 34% and 42% respectively, were caused in part by tumbling fleet sales, as the companies tightened their inventories and dealers reduced their stock of vehicles. Fleet sales fell 49% and 95%, respectively.

Still, Chrysler did note its retail market share rose by 1 percentage point from a year earlier to 9% while GM said its retail sales rose month-to-month for the fourth-straight month.

Meanwhile, Toyota's ongoing woes meant it was outsold by Ford in the U.S. for the third-straight month and put the company behind Ford on a year-to-date basis.

Ford's results continued its recent trend of increased market share - up three percentage points in June. The results by Ford further highlight the incremental signs of improvement the industry has been seeing recently. There were hopes that annualized U.S. sales could hit 10 million in June for the first time this year, but several auto makers said Wednesday the industry fell short of that mark.

Ford executives saw regional variations with a third of its 22 areas reporting higher year-on-year retail volume and almost a third more "close to" year-ago levels.

The company's June U.S. light-vehicle sales were 154,873, down from 173,462 a year earlier. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury car sales fell 11% while sport-utility vehicles dropped 20% in June. Trucks and vans declined just 6.9%.

June had 25 selling days, one more than a year ago.

GM reported total U.S. sales of 176,571, with trucks slumping 40% and cars down 24%. At the end of June, GM's inventories were down 26% to about 582,000 vehicles, and down about 33% compared with January.

Toyota reported its sales slid to 131,654 from 193,234 as car sales slumped 36%. The Corolla saw a 53% plunge, while Camry sales dropped by a more modest 37%.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (HMC) reported a 30% drop to 100,420, with cars slumping 41% and trucks off just 4.9%."We are seeing signs of strength in our light truck segments with solid gains for Honda's Odyssey and Pilot models this month," said sales executive John Mendel.

Chrysler, meanwhile, reported its total sales dropped 42% to 68,297 as car sales slid 48%. Chrysler, which didn't produce any vehicles for fleet sales in June, reported it finished the month with 195,272 units in inventory, down 56% from a year ago and representing a 71-day supply.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (NSANY) posted a more-modest 23% decline in sales to 58,298.

Ford's shares were even at $6.07 in recent trading. Nissan's American depositary shares were up 1.2% to $12.22, while Toyota's ADS were up 0.3% to $75.78.

-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480; [e-mail]

(Doug Cameron contributed to this story)

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