Sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks rebounded slightly in September but not enough to prevent General Motors and DaimlerChrysler from losing market share to Toyota, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Falling gas prices, lower interest rates and higher incentives helped sales of light trucks increase 1.2 percent from a year ago after months of declines, while passenger car sales fell 5.5 percent, according to Word's AutoInfobank.

That allowed Detroit's automakers, which rely heavily on sales of SUVs and pickups, to have one of their better months.

But in what has become a common occurrence, their performance was overshadowed by Toyota, whose sales surged more than 20 percent.

Toyota has the right image, said Jesse Toprak of Edmunds.com, which gives advice on cars. "Image seems to be the most important thing for a carmaker right now."

Of the seven largest automakers, only Toyota, which accounted for 16.5 percent of the market, and Ford Motor, at 17.3 percent, increased their share.

Sales of all Ford vehicles were up 0.4 percent when adjusted for one additional selling day this September, Word's reported.

GM, which gained market share in August, lost ground in September as it sold 6.9 percent fewer vehicles. Sales of GM's trucks fell nearly 5 percent, while car sales declined 10 percent, giving the company 21.6 percent of the market.

At DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes Benz reported its best September sales ever, while its United States based division, Chrysler Group, continued its slump. A bright spot for Chrysler was a 60-percent increase in sales of minivans, one of its most important segments.

Source: Xinhua