NEW YORK (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. posted record new vehicle sales in the United States in February, according to a report by Autodata Corp. released Tuesday.

Toyota, Japan's top automaker, said its sales gained 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 163,059 units, thanks to the growing popularity of its hybrid Prius vehicle. Prius sales more than doubled to a record 7,078 units.

Nissan's sales climbed 10.1 percent to 82,412 units.

Overall vehicle sales in the U.S. meanwhile fell 1.9 percent in February from a year earlier to 1,254,056 units.

General Motors Corp.'s sales fell 12.7 percent to 303,005 units and Ford Motor Co.'s sales slipped 3.0 percent to 237,232 units.

GM's sales took a beating from a sharp drop in car sales, while Ford's sales were hit by a decline in truck sales, the automakers said.

Sales of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler division rose 7.5 percent to 185,643 units, aided by sales growth in cars. But U.S. automakers as a whole continued to lose market share to their Japanese competitors.

Among other Japanese carmakers, Honda Motor Co. posted a 7.2 percent fall to 98,130 units, dragged down by a double-digit fall in car sales. Mazda Motor Corp. registered a 2.0 percent rise to 20,806 units.

Scandal-plagued Mitsubishi Motors Corp. saw its sales plunge 39.5 percent to 12,477 units.