Auto sales plunge to near 30-year lows

By Ben Klayman

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales fell 34.4 percent in April as the industry held near the lowest levels in nearly 30 years and closed out the month with Chrysler LLC filing for bankruptcy protection.

The talk of bankruptcy surrounding Chrysler and General Motors Corp GM.N, which faces similar pressures, only spooked consumers last month and led to weaker-than-expected industry results, executives and analysts said.

"Clearly, the uncertainty, the bankruptcy talk, has really affected the entire industry," GM chief sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni said on a conference call, adding retail sales had hit a wall in the last week of April.

U.S. auto sales came in at a 9.32 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in April, according to Autodata Corp, below the 9.8 million rate that analysts had expected. The annualized rate of U.S. auto sales is a closely watched indicator of economic activity.

That marked the 18th consecutive month of year-over-year declining sales and a drop from 9.86 million in March.

However, executives at several automakers also pointed to signs of stability in the market.

"While April sales weren't much to call home about, there are signs that the sales contraction is nearing its end," said Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) flagship brand in the United States.

Others called talk of a recovery wishful thinking.