The world's largest automaker said it sold 156,876 cars, down 37.4 per cent and 114,301 light trucks, down 34.9 per cent.

"As predicted, we've had a difficult time in July and most of August. We had expected this, but we're now in a position to make up lost ground," said Roy Roberts, vice president and general manager of GM's field sales, service and parts.

Strikes at two key GM parts plants in Flint, Michigan ended in late July after virtually shutting down the company's north American production for several weeks.

GM said nearly 60 per cent of its August sales came in the last 10 days of the month, compared to 45 per cent of the month's sales volume in August 1997.

"We are running overtime across virtually the entire vehicle lineup and expect to build nearly 1.5 million vehicles between October and December,"Roberts added.

"In late August, we began to see a momentum build and we expect that trend to become apparent in September," he said.

Meanwhile, Ford said it sold 323,599 vehicles in August, up seven per cent from a year earlier.

Ford's car sales reached 129,527, up one per cent from a year earlier, while its light truck sales were up 11.8 per cent to 194,072 units.