Honda, Nissan lead Asian market decline

Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, the only big automakers to add US sales through the first eight months of the year, could not escape an industrywide plunge in September as the credit crisis deterred buyers.

Sales for Asia-based brands fell 30 percent, led by Toyota Motor Corp's 32 percent tumble, Honda's 24 percent drop and a 37 percent decrease for Nissan. Toyota and Honda have not posted declines that large since the 1980s.

The results dragged US market share for Japanese and South Korean automakers to the lowest since April 2007 after lenders tightened standards and bank failures chilled demand. Last month's total was 39.9 percent, down from 42.1 percent a year earlier, according to industry-research firm Autodata Corp.