Big Three, Auto Sales | featured news

General Motors Co, the largest U.S. automaker, reported a 1.5 percent increase in September auto sales on the strength of its passenger car sales, while Ford Motor Co posted sales that were on par with its results from a year earlier.

Chrysler says its U.S. sales jumped 27 percent in October because of strong demand for its Jeep and Chrysler brand vehicles. It was the company's best October sales since 2007.

General Motors' U.S. sales fell 1.2 percent in May as it offered fewer deals to customers.

General Motors Co posted a 7.5 percent rise in December U.S. auto sales and said it expects the industry to report sales at a 13 million-vehicle annualized rate for last month -- far higher than many forecasts and what would be the highest rate of 2010.

Ford and GM report an increase of 43% for the month. And Honda is up 22% compared with a year ago as automakers keep pace with incentives offered by troubled Toyota.

US auto sales rose in January but were tempered by Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), which suffered a sales slide late in the month from a recall that led the auto maker to halt sales of more than half its vehicles.