Toyota's car sales fell 16 percent in January, a month they recalled millions of vehicles and halted sales of several models, according to The Associated Press.

Most other automakers reported higher sales, a sign they may be benefiting from Toyota's woes.

January is typically a weak month for U.S. auto sales, but automakers were expecting sales to improve over last January, when they dipped to a 26-year low because of the tough economy. Sales never really recovered last year, totaling 10.4 million cars and light trucks, the lowest since 1982.

General Motors said its January sales rose 14 percent due to higher fleet and crossover vehicle sales. Crossovers are SUV-like in size but sit on a car instead of a truck frame.

Crosstown rival Ford, meanwhile, was up 25 percent while Japan's Nissan rose 16 percent.

Chrysler was down 8 percent while Honda sales fell 5 percent. Korean automaker Kia said its January U.S. sales were essentially flat.

George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst, said he did not see evidence that Ford was taking buyers from Toyota, which halted U.S. sales of eight popular models due to faulty gas pedals in the final week of the month.