For the first time, the top three automobile makers in the United States accounted for less than half of total U.S. sales as sales for nearly all carmakers dropped in July, MSNBC reported.

General Motors Corp.’s sales fell 19 percent, Ford Motor Co.’s sales dropped nearly 17 percent and DaimlerChrysler AG’s sales fell 8 percent in July. Together they accounted for about 49.7 percent of U.S. auto sales for the month, said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. This is down from a 77 percent peak in the mid-1980s.

However, GM estimated that industry-wide sales fell 10 percent in July as the housing market slump and high gasoline prices slowed consumer spending. Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales fell 3.5 percent, its first U.S. sales decline in almost three years.