Combined U.S. market share for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group fell to an unprecedented low of 56.9 percent last year, down from 61.7 percent three years ago, according to Autodata Corp. At the same time, Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and other Asian brands saw their U.S. market share climb to 36.5 percent from 34.6 percent in 2002.

There were some bright spots domestically. Chevrolet was the best-selling brand in the U.S. market in 2005, topping Ford for the first time in 19 years. Chrysler Group's sales were up 5 percent last year. And several Utah dealers said their 2005 domestic-vehicle sales were about level with the previous year, helped by robust activity in December.

"Here at Chevrolet, we did well because Chevrolet has lots of cars getting 30 miles per gallon or better. The Impala is well-received. And the HHR is just flying off the shelves," said Chris Hemmersmeier, executive general manager at Jerry Seiner Dealerships in Salt Lake City.

GM's year-end totals were below the company's expectations. Paul Ballew, executive director of market and industry analysis for the world's biggest automaker, said the results for Chevrolet give GM a critical boost. GM lost nearly $4 billion in the first nine months of 2005 as it struggled with high costs and falling U.S. market share.

''It does confirm our ability to produce industry-leading vehicles,'' Ballew said.

Chrysler also saw its sales rise for the year thanks to hot-selling models such as the Chrysler 300 sedan and the Town & Country minivan, which both saw increases of more than 25 percent for the year.

"It was a fair year. The beginning of the year was extremely slow. But it picked up in May, about the time employee pricing came out," said Ray Gunn, general manager of D'Ambrosio Chrysler Jeep in Salt Lake City. The initiative set up a slew of sales in June, which was the dealership's best month in 10 years.

The blistering pace alarmed Gunn, who predicted that it would drain buyers out of the market when the program ended. But that didn't happen. "It wasn't as slow as I thought it would be, and it didn't last as long as I thought," he said.

Overall, U.S. automakers' sales were down 2 percent, while Asian brands' sales climbed 7 percent and European brands fell 3 percent. The total number of vehicles sold in the United States was nearly 17 million, about equal to the number sold the year before.

U.S. automakers also reported disappointing results for December despite a new round of holiday discounts. GM's December sales were down 10 percent, Ford fell 8.7 percent and Chrysler was down 5 percent as payback from strong summer sales continued. Industry representatives said last year's strong December made it a particularly difficult comparison.

December sales at Ken Garff Ford in American Fork were down 3 percent from the same month of 2004. Overall, though, the dealership's annual sales surged 12 percent on strong truck sales, general manager Ken Dangerfield said. Eighty percent of Ken Garff Ford's inventory is trucks.

Sales were boosted further by the introduction of the redesigned Mustang and the Fusion, a passenger car that gets more than 30 miles per gallon. Dangerfield said Honda and Toyota have done a better job educating the public about their fuel-efficient models, but Ford is engineering a turnaround with the four-door Fusion.

Asian automakers fared better in December, in part because they didn't offer employee-discounts over the summer. Toyota's December sales were up 8 percent, while Hyundai's were up nearly 16 percent as customers snapped up the 2006 Sonata. Honda's December sales were off 3 percent while Nissan's were off 1 percent.

Toyota, Nissan and South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. all reported sales increases of 9 percent or more for the year. Toyota, whose U.S. sales were up 10 percent over 2004, said its Camry sedan was the best-selling car in the United States for the fourth year in a row, while its Lexus nameplate was the best-selling luxury brand.

Jim Press, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., said hybrid sales helped propel Toyota's growth. Sales of the hybrid Toyota Prius doubled in 2005.

''Heightened interest in fuel costs and the environment and dependence on foreign oil really stimulated that interest in hybrids,'' Press said.

Honda Motor Co. also reported an increase of 5 percent over 2004 sales. Honda's car sales were flat but the automaker's truck and SUV sales rose nearly 14 percent, largely on the strength of the Honda Pilot small SUV and Honda's new Ridgeline pickup. Honda said it was the company's 12th consecutive year of U.S. sales increases.