U.S. sales of Ford Motor Co. cars and trucks were down 9.5% in October, compared to the same period a year ago, bring the company’s results for the year down 13%.

Three of the company’s six wholly owned brands — Mercury, Lincoln and Land Rover — posted gains in the month. Sales of the Ford brand, Jaguar and Volvo were all down. The company’s volume Ford brand was down 13% in the month and is now down 15% for the year.

Trucks posted a small, 0.9% gain the month, while car sales plummeted 26% as the company continues to ease off sales to daily rental companies.

Other major automakers were scheduled to release their results throughout the day.

Industry experts are expecting October to be a weak month for most automakers, as a housing crisis continues to weigh on the U.S. economy and credit markets.

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Nov. 1, 2007 – As manufacturers released new models in an effort to reinvigorate a shrinking domestic market, Japan’s automobile sales rose for the first time in 28 months in October, an industry group said. Sales increased 2% to 269,221 vehicles in October from a year earlier as Japanese automakers rushed to release new models ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show which opened last month, the Automobile Dealers Association said.

The number of cars — excluding mini-vehicles — sold in October rose 5.5% to 234,029, the association said. Sales of trucks fell 16.7% to 34,172 and sales of buses fell 2% to 1,020.

Toyota Motor Corp. launched four new models between September and October, while Honda Motor Co. released its fully remodeled Fit compact cars and Nissan Motor Co. put its Skyline Coupe sports model on the market.

The association also said consumers are increasingly reluctant to make major purchases such as new cars, preferring to spend their money on digital consumer goods such as flat TVs and cellphones.

An aging population is also weighing on sales, while owners now keep their cars for longer than they used to, weakening demand for replacements.

Environmental concerns are stirring interest in smaller vehicles but even so demand for mini-vehicles slumped 7.3% in October to 136,994, falling for a seventh straight month, the Japan Mini-Vehicle Association reported.

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