• by Aaron Baar , August 4, 2008

America's love affair with the SUV is officially over, and it's looking to be a bitter breakup. Sharp declines in SUV and truck sales during the month of July led to another month of double-digit losses for the auto industry. And there appears to be little relief in sight.

General Motors' total U.S. sales dropped 26% to 233,340 during July, compared with July 2007. The company's light truck sales dropped nearly 35% to 128,005 for the month, while car sales fell 12% to 105,335. For the year, GM's sales are down 18%, to 1.8 million vehicles, compared with 2.2 million for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Ford saw total sales in its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury divisions drop to 156,406 in July--down 13% from the same period a year ago, led by a sharp decline in truck and sport-utility vehicle sales (down 18% and 54%, respectively). For the first seven months of 2008, sales for those divisions were down 14%, from 2007 to 1.27 million.

"We expect the second half of 2008 will be more challenging than the first half as economic and credit conditions weaken," said Ford's group vice president of marketing communications Jim Farley, in a statement. The company estimated that auto sales for the month were down 11% for the entire industry.

Looking for a brighter side, the company's Ford, Lincoln and Mercury car sales were up 8% from a year ago, with the Ford Focus posting a 26% sales gain over the same period last year.

Chrysler sales, meanwhile, were 98,109 for the month--down 29% from the same period a year ago, thanks to large losses from its Chrysler and Jeep nameplates (down 40% and 39%, respectively). For the first seven months of the year, total sales were down 23% to 965,935 compared with the same period a year ago. "We are writing a new chapter in the auto industry story as customers, dealers and companies adjust to a changing environment," Jim Press, Chrysler LLC vice chairman and president, said in a statement.

American Honda's sales dropped 9%, to 138,744 for the month, compared with July 2007. While the company's total car sales increased 5%, truck sales were down 28% in July. However, the company's sub-compact Honda Fit sales jumped 78%, and Civic Hybrid sales were up 27% for the month. For the first seven months of 2008, American Honda's total sales were up almost 3%, compared with the same period in 2007.

Similarly, Toyota Motor Sales USA's July sales were down 18% to 197,424 compared with a year ago, with sales of light trucks in its Toyota division down 34% to 60,362. Toyota's passenger car sales were down 5.4% to 114,880 in July, compared with the same period last year. Toyota's Lexus division sales were down 27% to 13,219, compared with July 2007. Year-to-date, the company's total U.S. sales were down 8% across all divisions, compared with the same period in 2007.

Nissan's sales increased 8.5% to 95,319 for the month compared with July 2007, led by a 14% sales increase in its Versa subcompact and a 16% increase for its Sentra sedan. Surprisingly, Nissan's truck sales increased 18% for July 2008 over July 2007. Year-to-date, however, Nissan North America's sales are down nearly 1% compared with a year ago.

Mazda North America's sales were down 13% to 22,418 for July 2008, compared with July 2008. The biggest hits for the company were the Mazda6 (down 33%), the CX-7 (down 40%) and the Tribute (down 44%). For the first seven months, Mazda's sales are down nearly 2% to 175,599, compared with the same period last year.

While Mercedes posted a 2% increase in sales of its Mercedes cars for the first seven months compared with the same period a year ago, the company's new ultra-compact Smart car continues to move briskly, with 14,000 of the cars sold since they were first offered in mid-January.

Volkswagen of America posted a 4% gain for July compared with a year ago, selling 20,442 cars in the month. For the year, VW's sales were up 1%, compared with the same time period of 2007.

Subaru posted a small sales gain of 5% to 16,271 for July 2008, compared with July 2007--led by Impreza sales, which were up 19% over July 2007. Subaru's year-to-date sales are 110,366, up 5% compared with the same period last year.

Hyundai's U.S. sales were down 6.5% to 40,703 for the month, compared with the same period last year. Year-to-date, the company's sales were down nearly 3% to 271,769, compared with the same period 2007.

Prior to the release of sales reports on Friday, Edmunds.com had forecast July 2008 sales would be down nearly 11% when compared with July 2007 (and after adjusting for two extra selling days in 2008). The company expected new vehicle sales for July 2008 to be 1.26 million units, up 6.3% from the previous month.

"The combined market share for compact cars, compact trucks and compact SUVs is near its all-time high," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com, in a statement. "We expect these three segments to make up around 35% of the total market in July, compared to just 23% in July of 2003."