WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- General Motors Corp.’s "GM Employee Discount for Everyone" sales program has given the company 30.3 percent of U.S. market share through the first half of June.

According to a study by the Power Information Network, this is an increase of almost eight points from its retail share in May and an increase of seven points from June 2004.

During the first 12 days of June, the Chrysler Group’s retail market share has dropped more than two points from May, while both Ford Motor Co.’s and Toyota Motor Corp.’s shares have dropped by more than a point. Other manufacturers, including American Honda, Nissan Motor and Hyundai Motors, have experienced smaller declines in market share.

Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power-LMC Automotive Forecasting, believes GM’s incentive plan could help it keep its market share near last year’s level.

"We had expected GM to end 2005 at 26 percent of the light-vehicle market, but could see a number closer to the 27.6 percent share GM had for 2004 if this campaign is used on an intermittent basis," Schuster said. "However, over the long run, it will still be the product that makes the difference, not incentives."