New figures have revealed that auto sales in the US declined by 34.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis in April, representing the biggest fall in almost 30 years.

Bankruptcy-threatened automaker Chrysler bore the brunt of the negative data, with sales sliding by 48 per cent annually and by 24 per cent on a monthly basis.

However, Stephen J Landry, Chrysler's Executive Vice-President for North American Sales, explained that the company sold 11,400 units on the day that President Barack Obama pleaded for consumers to buy US cars.

He said: "We closed a lot of deals after the fact. Our showrooms were busy last night. Dealers said customers came into the showroom and bought a car based on President Obama's speech."

General Motors (GM), whose existence is also under serious threat, saw annual sales fall by 33 per cent, although its increased large fleet sales to operators boosted its figures.

Meanwhile, Ford appears to be benefiting from its decision not to seek federal aid, with its 32 per cent yearly drop in sales representing an improvement from March.

Of the Japanese automakers, Toyota reported a sales decline of 42 per cent from April 2008, while Honda saw sales fall by 25 per cent and Nissan posted a decrease of 38 per cent.

Autodata Corporation also confirmed that its seasonally-adjusted annual rate for sales is now 9.32 million units, lower than the 9.8 million widely predicted by industry experts.

Down from 9.86 million in March, the revised figure represents the 18th consecutive month of yearly declines for what is often viewed as an indicator of economic activity.

However, there was better news in China - now the world's largest auto market since overtaking the US in January - where car sales increased by 37 per cent during April.

Buoyed by government tax incentives for consumers who buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, total vehicle sales, including buses and trucks, rose by 25 per cent to 1.15 million.

One company to profit was Changan Ford Mazda, Ford's car venture in China, which confirmed that its April sales increased by 33 per cent on a year-on-year basis from 19,462 units to 25,882 units.

The three-way partnership - featuring Ford, Chonqing Changan Auto and Mazda Motor - also revealed that its sales for the first four months of 2009 were 82,957, up from 81,465 at the same stage last year.

Changan Auto reported a 51 per cent annual increase to 117,846 vehicle sales over the course of the month, while its January to April volumes increased by 22 per cent to 415,594 units.

Ford's part-owned commercial vehicle maker Jiangling Motors Corporation managed to sell 10,568 vehicles in April and 35,980 in the first four months of the year, representing declines of 5.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively.

April was also a record month in China for GM, which saw sales surge by 50 per cent to 151,084 units, aided by the local manufacture of its Wuling mini vans and pickup trucks.

Elsewhere, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) revealed that industry-wide car sales increased 4.4 per cent from 98,752 units in April 2008 to 102,899 units last month.

Motorcycle sales in India increased by 12.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 562,357, while sales of buses and trucks - another economic activity benchmark - fell by 11.3 per cent to 29,842.

The improvements have been attributed to better borrowing conditions, tax cuts and greater demand in rural regions, although SIAM warned that they are not necessarily indicative of a significant revival.

Moving to Europe, the VDA automobile federation confirmed that car sales in Germany increased by 19 per cent to 380,000 on a year-on-year basis during April.

The rise - which was not as impressive as the 40 per cent leap in March - can be explained by government incentives for consumers trading in older cars for scrap.

However, production slumped by 34 per cent annually and exports fell by 48 per cent, while new data also showed that car sales declined by seven per cent in France and 7.5 per cent in Italy.

In the UK, car sales decreased by 24 per cent to 133,475 units during the month - the lowest figure since 1991 and the 11th consecutive monthly drop - according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Furthermore, the amount of cars sold in the first four months of the year dropped to 613,833, representing a decline of 28.5 per cent from the figure of 859,017 recorded 12 months earlier.

Commenting on the results, SMMT chief Pail Everitt expressed his belief that the country's motor industry "continues to demonstrate its strength and resilience".

However, prime minister Gordon Brown has followed Germany's lead by introducing a £2,000 car scrapping incentive - set to come into force on 18th May - in his recent Budget announcement.

Meanwhile, in the emerging Brazilian market, sales of cars, light trucks, trucks and buses slipped by 13.6 per cent in April on a monthly basis and by 10.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

The monthly decline comes after an increase of 30 per cent was recorded in March as consumers snapped up vehicles over doubts that the government would extend the deadline for the IPI industrial tax break.

New vehicle sales for April also slumped by a record 43.7 per cent annually in South Africa, according to new figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).

The body revealed that 24,063 units were sold, down 43.1 per cent from the 42,325 units sold in April 2008 or 43.7 per cent lower when taking AMH Group's aggregate vehicles sales into account.

In addition, new car registrations crashed by 37.5 per cent to 15,071 on a year-on-year basis - and by 38.8 per cent with the AMH Group figures - representing the worst month for 24 years.

Naamsa - which has blamed the falls on the number of public holidays in April - also confirmed that new vehicle sales for the first four months of 2009 were down by 36.4 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.

Ford revealed that its South African sales dropped by 29 per cent during the month, adding to falls of 35.5 per cent, 36 per cent and 30 per cent in January, February and March.

"Some recovery in passenger vehicle sales is likely to be experienced during the second half of the year as previous interest rate cuts start to take effect," commented Nedbank in a statement.

Finally, auto output in Mexico slumped by 46.6 per cent last month compared to April 2008, new figures from the Mexican Automotive Industry Association have suggested.

The world's tenth-largest automaker produced 110,421 vehicles and exported 85,121 units during the month, with the figures badly affected by declining demand in the US.

On top of that, Mexico's Holy Week holiday, which traditionally sees less consumer activity, fell in April rather than March, while the economy was partially shut down after the swine flu outbreak.

Sources:

Sales Plunge Adds to Chrysler's Misery (01/05/09)

WRAPUP 2-April U.S. auto sales plunge near 30-year lows (01/05/09)

India's April car sales rise 4.2 pct y/y -industry (10/05/09)

China car sales jump 37% on tax breaks (11/05/09)

Ford China venture April car sales up 33 percent on year (06/05/09)

German car sales continue to rise (05/05/09)

UK car sales 24% lower in April (07/05/09)

Brazil Auto Sales Slump In April After March's Tax Rush (05/05/09)

New vehicle sales slumped 43% in April (05/05/09)

UPDATE 2-Mexico April auto output slumps as crisis bites (12/05/09)

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