Auto sales during November saw a precipitous decline as the economy continued to falter and consumers reigned in on spending.

General Motors (GM) posted a 41.3% decline in sales during November, while Ford (F) saw a 30% drop off and Toyota posted a decline of 33.9%. Chrysler saw the steepest decline, posting a drop of 47%.  Industry wide auto sales fell 35% in November.

In a press release Detroit, Michigan-based GM said it sold 154,877 vehicles in November down from 263,654 cars in November of last year. Vehicle sales fell 44.1% during the month, while light truck sales fell  39.4%

Ford said in a press release it had total sales of 118,818 in November, marking a 30% decline.

“The economy continues to weaken and auto sales reflect this reality,” said Jim Farley, Ford group vice president, marketing and communications. The company noted that its market share in November was higher than a year ago for the second month in a row.

Meanwhile Toyota Motor Sales USA (TM);">TM: 60.86, +2.30, +3.93%) reported it sold 130,307 vehicles in the month of November, a decrease of 33.9% from last November. The Toyota Division had sales of 114,084 units in November a 33.8% declined from a year ago. Lexus sales were down 34.7% to 16,223.

Chrysler said it sold 85,260 vehicles in November compared to 161,088 in November of 2008. Car sales during the month fell 59.1% while truck sales fell 41.6%.

In October auto sales were 10.6 million vehicles.

Ford said in its press release that is plans to produce 430,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2009. The company produced 692,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2008.  Ford said it expects the economy to continue to weaken next year. GM is planning to cut production in the fourth quarter 20% to 835,000 and reduce it to 600,000 in the first quarter of 2009.