Stung again by Asian and European rivals, the combined United States market share of Detroit's Big Three automakers hit an all-time low in 2003 of 60.3 percent, according to the Detroit News. Sales of domestic brands at General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group dropped 3.4 percent last year while the overall market was down just 1 percent. The sales low point marked a 1.5 percentage point drop from Detroit's collective 61.7 percent market share in 2002, according to Autodata Corp., the News said. A point of market share equals roughly 170,000 vehicles. The decline comes as foreign automakers are flooding the U.S. market with new products and taking aim at Detroit's stronghold - trucks, minivans and SUVs, according to the News. GM's market share dropped to 28 percent from 28.4 percent while Ford's slice fell to 19.5 percent from 20.2 percent and the Chrysler Group's share fell to 12.8 percent from 13.1 percent, the News reported.
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