Ford Motor Co. held off Toyota as the No. 2 U.S. vehicle seller in December 2006 despite a nearly 13 percent sales drop from a year earlier, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

General Motors also posted a 13 percent sales decline in December, according to the report.

Ford sold 231,900 light vehicles in December, and Toyota sold 228,322. Toyota's sales for the month rose more than 12 percent compared with December 2005.

GM reported that December sales fell to 334,501 vehicles, compared with 384,620 in December 2005.

Some analysts had expected Ford's sales to drop enough in December for Toyota to take the No. 2 spot. But even though truck sales declined sharply, car sales rose enough to keep Ford ahead of the Japanese automaker.

For 2006, Ford's sales fell about 8 percent, to 2.9 million, due largely to a decline in truck and sport-utility-vehicle sales and the end of production for the Taurus sedan.

Toyota reported its best year ever in 2006, with sales up 12.9 percent at more than 2.5 million vehicles.

GM's skid in December was led by a nearly 19 percent decline in truck sales, while its car sales were off 1.6 percent. For the year, GM sales dropped 8.7 percent, to 4.1 million.

DaimlerChrysler's U.S. sales fell 1 percent in December due largely to a dip in Mercedes-Benz sales, the company said. For the full year, DaimlerChrysler's sales were down 5 percent, to 2.4 million, compared with 2005.

Source: Xinhua