Rick Wagoner GM CEO - GM sales plunged 26 percent

Japanese car brands Toyota and Honda, boosted by new models, helped Asian auto brands win a record share of the US market in October as sales plunged for General Motors and Ford Motor Co.

Gains at Toyota and Honda boosted the combined market share for Japanese and South Korean car makers to 40 percent, up from 35.9 percent a year earlier, while the combined US share of GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler fell to a historic low of 52.4 percent in October.

Industrywide sales declined 14 percent, led by falls of 26 percent each for GM and Ford, the two biggest US car makers, who stopped offering all buyers the same discounts that employees pay. Toyota and Honda have boosted sales with Toyota's redesigned Avalon sedan and Honda's Civic compact, which offer better fuel economy than truck models.

Sales increased 1.3 percent for Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota, the world's second-biggest car maker, and 0.4 percent for Tokyo-based Honda, Japan's No. 3 carmaker.