U.S. auto sales led by strong gains at the Chrysler Group, Hyundai-Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG rose 14 percent last month to nearly 1 million units. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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It was the biggest year-over-year gain in monthly sales since April, with several automakers receiving a boost from strong Thanksgiving holiday weekend traffic.
On a seasonally adjusted annual sales basis, volume reached 13.63 million units last month — the highest since August 2009, when cash for clunkers helped drive demand for new cars and light trucks.
Analysts expected the seasonally adjusted sales rate to hit 13.4 million to 13.5 million units for the month, up from 13.26 million units in October.
The SAAR had peaked this year at 13.29 million units in February, and slumped to a low of 11.54 million in June.
U.S. auto sales have advanced 10 percent to 11.5 million units this year through November and are forecast to hit about 12.8 million units for the year.
On a volume basis, it was the industry’s best November since 2007 and raised hopes the recovery — interrupted by the March earthquake in Japan and threatened by economic jitters — will gain speed the remainder of the year and into 2012.
“We are seeing a broad spectrum of customers return to the market,” said Don Johnson, head of GM’s U.S. sales operations. GM said sales rose at Chevrolet and GMC, but dropped at Buick and Cadillac.
Chrysler Group sales soared 45 percent, their biggest monthly increase since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009. General Motors said sales rose 7 percent, helped by strong demand for big pickups and smaller cars such as the Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze.
At Ford Motor Co., sales advanced 13 percent, their biggest gain since April, with volume at the Ford division up 20 percent.
Toyota Motor Corp., finally rebounding from the March earthquake in Japan, posted its first monthly gain in U.S. sales since April, with the Toyota and Lexus brands each up 7 percent last month.
Nissan Motor Co. said its sales rose 19 percent last month, helped by a 22 percent increase at the Nissan division. Volkswagen AG said strong demand for the new Passat and Jetta sedans helped the VW brand post a 41 percent increase in sales last month.
Honda Motor Co., still reeling from inventory shortages, was the only major automaker to post a decline in U.S. volume last month. Its sales dropped 6 percent in November.
