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AUTOS: Sales Rose 17% During November
Auto industry continues gradual U.S. recovery with two consecutive months of solid results.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted December 01, 2010   Detroit, MI
Buick, including the all-new Regal, was GM's strongest division in November with a 36 percent sales increase. (Photo: Buick)
The auto industry showed strong signs of recovery in November with a 17 percent boost in U.S. sales compared with November 2009.

The November gains follow a similar sales rise in October as automakers rolled out new models, trucks sales pickup up and the annualized sales rate reached 12.26 million for the month, compared with 10.9 million a year ago.

All the major automakers except Toyota showed strong sales increases over last November, although the annualized rate is still a far cry from the 17 million U.S. sales of 2007.

"Sales are up in many segments,” said Michelle Krebs, Senior Analyst for Edmunds.com. “Small-car volumes are edging higher as those buyers were really frozen out of the market before. The luxury customer, with a better net worth thanks to the stock market, is back. Trucks and SUVs are up, as consumers seem comfortable with gas prices.

“It's still not a blistering hot market but it looks like the spring thaw is starting early."

Hyundai continued its sales boom with its strongest November ever on a spate of new products, including the revamped Sonata. (Photo: Hyundai)
Hyundai-Kia was once again a star player among the major brands with a solid 46 percent gain over November 2009 as its new and redesigned models and competitive pricing hit home for consumers.

At the other end of the scale, Toyota continued to struggle with its bad publicity of the past year, losing three percent of sales compared with a year ago. Those results include the Lexus luxury division and Scion.

The three domestic brands continued their rise, with Ford hitting a 20 percent gain, Chrysler reaching a 17 percent increase and General Motors rising a strong 12 percent with its four remaining brands.

Chrysler benefited from a rise in truck and SUV sales with its fresh new products. Jeep sales rose a sharp 58 percent.

"The launch of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee was well-timed, given that trucks are very hot right now,” said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “Between the Ram and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, people have a reason to shop Chrysler trucks and SUVs, and that may benefit the rest of the Chrysler group line-up."

Both Ford and General Motors are riding waves of good feelings among consumers with their portfolios of new vehicles and quick turnarounds from troubled times. GM also gained a quick shot of success from its highly successful initial stock offering.
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