The picture automakers have painted of their 2008 United States sales is at least as bleak as most analysts predicted with only Subaru and Mini posting gains so far. Not surpisingly, Chrysler’s annual sales have taken the biggest hit so far, though Volvo’s sales are down substantially as well. We’ll continue to update this space as more automakers release data.

The Good
Chrysler managed a 5 percent increase in December over November’s figures, though sales were down substantially compared to the same period in 2008.

Mini shoppers must not have gotten word that car sales were down – the automaker sold four more cars in December 2008 than it did in the same period in 2007. Overall sales for the year were up 28.6 percent.

Nissan’s crossovers – Rogue sales were up 10 percent and Murano sales were up nearly 54 percent, though the Murano sold in December 2007 was a lame-duck model.

Subaru managed to sell 491 more vehicles in 2008 than it did a year before. The automaker reported increases of 6, 7.1 and 36.4 percent for the Impreza, Legacy and Forester, respectively. Outback and Tribeca sales were down, although Outback sales figures included the 2007 Legacy wagon, a bodystyle the automaker dropped for 2008.

Ford’s Flex managed to post its best month ever in December 2008, with 2,685 vehicles sold. The Focus also had its best year since 2004. F-150 continued as the best-selling vehicle in the United States, though sales were down overall for the year. Otherwise, Ford’s sales dropped across the board.

Mitsubishi managed a 20 percent increase in sales for its Galant in December; overall Galant sales were up 1.7 percent over 2007.

The Bad
Including all three brands, Chrysler’s sales dropped a massive 53 percent over December 2008 sales, though the automaker actually sold 15 percent more vehicles in December than it did in November. Overall 2008 sales were down an even 30 percent, however. Chrysler division sales were hit the worst, with the automaker pushing out just 19,453 cars in December, representing a 60 percent drop over the same period in 2007, Dodge’s sales were down 52 percent and Jeep’s sales were down 48 percent.

General Motors saw sales plunge to a 48-year low in 2008 thanks in part to a 31 percent drop-off in demand in December. Like Chrysler, the automaker saw an increase in sales over November’s figures, but that hardly hides the fact that GM’s sales were down substantially throughout 2008.

BMW saw a hefty drop in demand in December – down 40.2 percent for both its cars and SUVs. The automaker’s sales were down 15.4 percent overall in 2008.

Volvo pushed just 4,953 cars out of showrooms in December, a 47 percent drop from the year before. Overall sales were down 31.2 percent in 2008 as Ford tries to sell its Swedish unit in a bid to raise much-needed capital. Fellow Swedish brand Saab, currently up for sale by GM, saw an even bigger 57.1 percent drop in December and slid 34.7 percent overall in 2008.

The Ugly
The following automakers have reported December sales data (keep checking here as we will continue to update this page):

Acura, down 39.3 percent to 10,680.
Audi, down 9.3 percent to 7,712.
Buick, down 38.1 percent to 8,909.
BMW, down 40.2 percent to 18,060.
Cadillac, down 38.3 percent to 13,235.
Chevrolet, down 25.8 percent to 137,691.
Chrysler, down 60 percent to 19,453.
Dodge, down 52 percent to 47,269.
Ford, down 33.1 percent to 116,188.
GMC, down 34.5 percent to 29,783.
Honda, down 34 percent to 75,405.
Hummer, down 59.3 percent to 2,170.
Infiniti, down 34.6 percent to 8,273.
Jeep, down 48 percent to 23,091.
Lexus, down 32.4 percent to 23,362.
Lincoln, down 9.1 percent to 9,053.
Mercedes-Benz, down 32.1 percent to 18,507.
Mercury, down 29.8 percent to 8,873.
Mini, up 0.1 percent to 3,566.
Mitsubishi, down 22.6 percent to 4,570.
Nissan, down 30 percent to 53,829.
Pontiac, down 45.6 percent to 16,446.
Saab, down 57.1 percent to 1,179.
Saturn, down 30.9 percent to 12,570.
Subaru, down 7.7 percent to 17,287.
Toyota, down 37.5 percent to 118,587.
Volkswagen, down 14.4 percent to 17,577.
Volvo, down 47 percent to 4,953.

And the following automakers have published overall 2008 sales figures:

Acura, down 20 percent to 144,504.
Audi, down 6.1 percent to 87,760.
Buick, down 26.2 percent to 137,197.
BMW, down 15.2 percent to 249,113.
Cadillac, down 24.9 percent to 161,159.
Chevrolet, down 20.5 percent to 1,801,131.
Chrysler, down 38 percent to 335,108.
Dodge, down 26 percent to 784,113.
Ford, down 19.1 percent to 1,687,731.
GMC, down 25.5 percent to 376,996.
Honda, down 6.7 percent to 1,284,261.
Hummer, down 50.9 percent to 27,485.
Infiniti, down 11.1 percent to 112,989.
Jeep, down 30 percent to 333,901.
Lexus, down 21.2 percent to 260,087.
Lincoln, down 18.4 percent to 107,295.
Mercedes-Benz, down 11.2 percent to 225,128.
Mercury, down 28.6 percent to 120,248.
Mini, up 28.6 percent to 54,077.
Nissan, down 10.9 percent to 838,361.
Pontiac, down 25.3 percent to 267,348.
Saab, down 34.7 percent to 21,368.
Saturn, down 21.7 percent to 188,004.
Subaru, up 0.3 percent to 187,699.
Toyota, down 14.9 percent to 1,957,575.
Volvo, down 31.2 percent to 73,102.
Volkswagen, down 3.2 percent to 223,128.

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