Ford Motor Co. posted a 32% drop in U.S. light-vehicle sales for December while Toyota Motor Co. reported a 37% fall and Honda Motor Co. had a 35% decline, closing out the auto industry's worst year in more than 15 years.

Toyota Motor Co. said Monday its sales in the U.S. fell sharply in December but retained its position as the No. 2 vehicle seller in the U.S. for 2008.

Its sales fell 37 % to 141,949 vehicles from 224,399 in the same month of 2007 amid double-digit declines for almost every model in its lineup.

The top Japanese automaker said volumes of its top-selling Camry fell 35 %, while sales of its Prius hybrid plunged 45 %.

Ford's car sales fell 26% to 43,087 in December, while truck and van sales fell 30% to 54,295 amid a 25% drop for the F-series pickup. SUV sales slumped 52%.

Germany-based Daimler sold a total of 20,848 vehicles in December, down 23.5 % from 27,269 in the same month in 2007.

America Inc. Volkswagen sold a total of 17,577 vehicles in December, down 14.4 % from 20,543 in the same month of 2007.

Jetta models fell a combined 9.8 % to 8,063 units while Passat sales slid 20.7 % to 2,532.

The U.S. division of Porsche said it sold 2,154 vehicles in December, down from 2,891 a year earlier.

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