June 26 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the largest U.S. automaker, was cut to ``sell'' at Goldman, Sachs & Co., saying the shares will continue to slide on a worsening sales outlook. GM fell as much as 11 percent in New York trading.

Soaring gas prices, falling consumer confidence and tighter credit conditions will weigh on auto-industry profits, Goldman wrote in a report today. GM, which had been rated ``neutral,'' may need to raise money and cut its dividend as its cash flow deteriorates, the analysts wrote.

The automaker's U.S. sales tumbled 16 percent this year through May as consumer preferences shifted to cars and smaller sport-utility vehicles. GM has cut truck production and announced plans to close factories.

GM fell $1.28 to $11.53 at 9:37 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after dropping as low as $11.35. The shares declined 49 percent this year through yesterday.

Fitch Ratings yesterday cut GM's long-term debt rating to B-, six steps below investment grade. Fitch's outlook on GM is negative, meaning the rating may be downgraded further.

This week, GM said it would reduce production of pickups and sport-utility vehicles by 170,000 more units this year. The automaker also began offering interest-free financing for as long as six years on many 2008 models.

Goldman also cut ratings on Tenneco Inc., the world's largest maker of automobile exhaust systems, to ``neutral'' from ``buy'' and on Lear Corp., the second-biggest maker of vehicle seats, to ``sell'' from ``neutral.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net; Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 26, 2008 09:39 EDT