The US car industry is expected to have had its worst year since 1992 after a sharp fall in December sales.

Chrysler was the worst hit falling by 53% last month, pulling 2008 sales down 30% to fewer than 1.5m vehicles, reports the Daily Telegraph.

General Motors revealed a 31% drop in year-on-year puchases for December while Ford reported a 32% slump last month.

Meanwhile industry website Edmunds.com predicted sales for the full year will total just over 13m, down 18% overall from 2007, while Global Insight forecast US sales will fall to 10.3m this year.