GM's Sales Advance; Toyota, Ford Sputter

General Motors(GM) managed to eke out sales gains in January, while chief rivals Ford(F) and Toyota (TM) saw sales slide amid a tough macroeconomic climate in the U.S.

GM, the nation's No. 1 auto seller, said Friday that its U.S. light-vehicle sales increased 2.6% in January to 250,926 vehicles.

Light-truck sales jumped 4.3% to 146,552 units. Car sales inched up 0.2% to 104,374 vehicles.

GM's car sales have been dented over the past year as it has been cutting back on car sales to rental agencies, which are less profitable than retail sales. The company said, however, that its retail car sales in January surged 31%.

"January's performance strongly indicates that, along with our great market position in trucks and crossovers, GM is back in the car business," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North American vehicle sales, service and marketing. "Our new launch vehicles, including the award-winning Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS had a sensational month, as did the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and G6, Saturn AURA, Buick Lacrosse and Cadillac STS."

The gains come amid what was expected to be an extremely tough month for automakers as the U.S. deals with a consumer spending slowdown that has cut demand for big-ticket purchases.

Toyota, typically a strong performer while Detroit's automakers falter, saw its U.S. sales slide 2.3% last month, pulled down by weakness in its Lexus division.

The Toyota division reported January sales of 151,550 vehicles, down 1.4% from a year earlier. Lexus division sales tumbled 8.2% to 20,299 units.