CHICAGO -- Ford (IW 500/6) and Chrysler posted solid gains Monday as an overall improving economic outlook and high demand for replacement vehicles following the devastating Hurricane Sandy boosted US auto sales in November.
Automotive website TrueCar.com forecast that total U.S. auto sales will rise 13% in November and the sales pace will reach an adjusted, annualized rate of 15.2 million vehicles.
"November was a strong month for new car sales and the impact from hurricane Sandy helped to boost auto sales to its highest since February 2008," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar.com.
"Import automakers got the biggest lift due to some increased incentive spending building momentum heading into next year. We don't expect any major impact on auto sales from the ongoing fiscal cliff discussions."
Ford posted its best November since 2005, as sales rose 6% to 177,673 vehicles. The results were drive by strong demand for its small cars, which posted their best November in 12 years.
"November represented a strong month for the industry, and Ford sales performed well across the board," said Ken Czubay, head of Ford sales.
"We saw sharp increases in demand for Ford's fuel-efficient small cars, our best-ever month for electrified vehicles and growing demand for our fuel-efficient and capable F-Series pickups."
Chrysler's sales grew by 14% to 122,565 vehicles for the best November performance since 2007. It has now posted 32 consecutive months of sales gains and its sales are up 22% for the year to date.
"Even with all the talk of a looming fiscal cliff, Chrysler Group is well positioned for a strong sales finish to the year," said sales chief Reid Bigland.
"We are expecting a strong December as the industry continues to recover from the East Coast hurricane and consumers continue to respond to our popular year-end Big Finish event."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
