Ford Motor saw US sales fall 26.5 per cent in August, emphasising that America’s slump in car sales may not have bottomed out.

Ford sold 155,172 light vehicles last month, down 3.6 per cent from 160,990 in July, which was the industry’s worst month for US sales in 16 years.

The company’s Lincoln and Mercury car sales dropped nearly 9 per cent, while truck sales were off more than 32 per cent last month. Ford also doesn’t expect a sales rebound in the second half of the year.

It said today that it plans to cut 50,000 more vehicles from its production plan in the second half of the year, reducing its output to 890,000 in the last six months of 2008.

“We expect the second half of 2008 will be more challenging than the first half as weak economic conditions and the consumer credit crunch continue,” Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president for marketing and sales, said.

There were some bright spots for Ford. Sales of its Focus small car were up 23 per cent in August, while Escape small SUV sales rose 17 per cent compared with the same month a year ago.

Meanwhile, Porsche’s North American sales nearly halved to 1,516 vehicles in August as would-be customers held off buying its core 911 models until they have been given a makeover.

Sales of the 911 model fell by 58 per cent to 366 cars last month in North America, the group’s biggest market. This brought the total year-on-year sales decline for the group to 45 per cent for the period.

A company spokesman said the drop was "in line with expectations and can be explained by the upcoming launch of the new 911 Carrera and Targa models".

The updated models will include direct fuel injection and the basic versions will be available in the US and Canada on September 20. The more expensive four-wheel versions will hit the showrooms on October 25.

Toyota’s sales dropped 9.4 per cent from August of last year but Nissan - the only major carmaker to show a sales gain in July - reported another improvement, with a 13.6 per cent increase in August sales.

Like Ford, General Motors also reported a double-digit fall in sales from a year ago. Sales dropped by 20.3 per cent but a 31 per cent improvement over its July totals, mainly thanks to offering all buyers employee pricing on many models.

Carmakers have seen their sales tumble this year as weak consumer confidence, house value declines and high gas prices have steered many buyers away from dealer lots and pushed the ones who remain toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

At the same time, the tightening of credit markets and higher leasing costs have made it harder for many Americans to get financing.

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