Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. sales fell in October as reduced access to loans and a weaker economy kept consumers away from dealer lots.

GM said in a statement today that its sales of cars and light trucks tumbled 45 percent from a year earlier. Ford reported a 30 percent decline and Toyota posted a 23 percent drop. Honda Motor Co.'s were down 25 percent and Nissan Motor Co.'s slid 33 percent.

Industrywide U.S. auto sales probably fell for the 12th straight month in October, extending the longest slide in 17 years. Tight credit, falling consumer confidence and the weakening economy, the same forces that suppressed buying in September, hurt automakers again last month.

``Nobody knows what's going to happen next,'' said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ``The credit crisis is limiting availability of funds. Many, many people are losing their jobs.''

The financial crisis has dented stock markets worldwide, and a $700 billion U.S. financial aid package hasn't yet spurred renewed lending. New vehicles probably sold at an annual rate of 11.5 million in October, down from 16.1 million a year earlier, based on a Bloomberg survey of 21 analysts and economists.

That estimate is similar to projections by U.S. automakers. The annual rate for October may drop to less than 11 million cars and light trucks, Ford sales analyst George Pipas said on a conference call today.

Industry sales in 2009's first half will be ``sobering,'' Jim Farley, Ford's worldwide marketing chief, said on the conference call. Sales this year may fall to fewer than 14 million vehicles, Pipas said. The 2007 total was 16.1 million.

GM, Ford

GM reported sales of 168,719 cars and light trucks, compared with 307,408 a year earlier. The Detroit-based company sold 53 percent fewer pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and vans.

Sales at Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, dropped to 132,838 vehicles, from 190,195 a year earlier. The slide was Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford's 23rd in the past 24 months.

Ford's sales included declines of 58 percent for the Edge wagon and 18 percent for the Focus small car. Focus sales had risen most of the year after U.S. gasoline prices peaked at more that $4 a gallon in July and averaged 26 percent higher than a year earlier through October. They fell 41 percent from the July 15 peak through yesterday, according to motorist group AAA.

Sales of Ford's F-Series pickups slid 16 percent in October. That decline was the narrowest for the large trucks since a 4.9 percent drop in February.

For the company's Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands, sales dropped 30 percent for trucks and 27 percent for cars.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan

Toyota, the largest Asian automaker, reported sales of 152,101 vehicles, down from 197,592 a year earlier. The Toyota City, Japan-based company last month offered no-interest financing on 11 car and light-truck models.

Adjusted for the change in sales days from a year earlier, the decline was 26 percent, Toyota said.

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, sold 85,864 cars and light trucks, dropping from 114,799 a year earlier, spokesman Kurt Antonius said in an interview. Reduced demand for the Tokyo- based company's light trucks was partly offset by higher sales of Fit subcompact cars, he said.

Nissan's sales fell to 56,945 vehicles, Al Castignetti, U.S. vice president of Nissan-brand sales, said in an interview. The Tokyo-based company's pickups and sport-utility vehicles dropped while models including the Versa subcompact car, Maxima sport sedan and Rogue small crossover SUV rose, he said.

Chrysler Estimate

Chrysler LLC may post a 38 percent decline, based on the average estimates of three analysts.

October had 27 selling days, one more than a year earlier. That means some automakers will post unadjusted results about 4 percentage points higher than analysts' adjusted estimates.

A 12-month streak of declines in vehicle sales would be the longest such stretch since the 14 months that ran through December 1991, according to research firm Autodata Corp. in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

U.S. consumer confidence fell to the lowest level on record in October as stocks plunged and banks shut off credit. The Conference Board's confidence index tumbled to 38, less than forecast and the lowest reading since monthly records began in 1967, the New York-based research group said Oct. 28.

`Poor Showroom Traffic'

``The all-time low level of consumer confidence in October was reflected in particularly poor showroom traffic,'' Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson wrote in an Oct. 29 note. ``Sales in the U.S. are shaping up much weaker than even last month.''

Money-losing GM and Chrysler are negotiating a merger, people familiar with the discussions have said. Vehicle sales are plummeting as those automakers and Ford burn through cash.

GM offered employee prices to all customers in August and September. The incentive caused ``sales to be pulled ahead into September,'' said Tom Libby, a Troy, Michigan-based analyst at market-research firm J.D. Power & Associates. ``GM has struggled'' since, he said.

Gross domestic product contracted at a 0.3 percent pace from July to September, according to a U.S. Commerce Department report on Oct. 30. The decline, the biggest since 2001, was smaller than forecast.

Unemployment is at a five-year high of 6.1 percent and may rise to 8 percent by the end of 2009, according to Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan, at wkoenig@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2008 14:01 EST