GM September sales fall 16 per cent

General Motors Corp said that US light vehicle sales fell 16 per cent last month to 282,806 units, pressured by the sharp downturn in demand for light trucks.

Overall, GM sales of light trucks fell 19.3 per cent in August, while sales of cars fell 9.8 per cent.

GM estimated its share of the US market in September at 27 per cent.

During last month, the automaker offered most of its vehicles at prices its employees pay in an effort to boost sales.

GM said it had 717,000 vehicles in inventory at the end of last month, down about 179,000 vehicles compared with the same month last year. The inventory included about 275,000 cars and 442,000 trucks.

The automaker reiterated that it plans to produce 875,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, down about 16 per cent compared with a year ago.