US car sales surge on truck and SUV

NBC News staff and wire reports - 23: 00.

Big three automakers Detroit sales higher last month amid rising demand for larger vehicles such as SUVs and pickups.

Strong demand for the RAM pickup helped drive Chrysler sales growth of 11 percent last month, as the company its best April, six years booked. General Motors co. US sales rose by 11 percent in April for the continuation of the demand for pickup trucks and small cars. And Ford Motor Co. said U.S. sales rose 18 percent in April thanks to great demand for the redesigned SUV to escape.

The increase is another sign that Americans continue to cars and trucks despite high unemployment and mixed economic signals to buy.

Among the Japanese manufacturers, said Toyota 1.1 percent sales April, slid is missing the expectations of analysts. Nissan sales rose by 23 percent.

But U.S. automakers a pioneering role in April sales.

Chrysler said that it sold 156.698 cars and trucks last month under the leadership of RAM pickup with a turnover of 31.409. The Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV busy also strong numbers, sales by 27 percent to just over 15.000. Dodge brand sales rose 18 percent, posting the best month ever with a turnover of nearly 8,100 DART-subcompact. But the brand of Chrysler vehicles fought in April with sales falling 13 percent.

TRUCK and SUV sales helped the Chrysler its big boost the post. The company truck sales rose 14 percent, while car sales increased only 5 percent.

Chrysler predicted that US sales volume are taken an annual rate of 15.4 million in April. This is a little higher than most analysts predict. It is the sixth straight month of work sales over a 15 million annual pace.

The Ford Escape sales 52 percent to almost 26,000. It was the best April for the flight, since the vehicle went on sale first 13 years ago.

Ford's luxury Lincoln brand showed also signs for a turnaround after years of declining sales. Sale of new Lincoln MKZ sedan, which reached many U.S. showrooms in April, doubles more than compared to the previous year. Lincoln sales rose 21 percent for the month.

The Ford F-series pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in the United States rose 24 percent over last April with growing demand from private builders and other companies. Ford sold more than 59,000 F-series-pickups in the United States last month.

GM Chevrolet Silverado full size pickup sales rose 28 percent more than 39.000 truck sales were strong throughout the year on increasing demand from home builders and other businesses.

GM saw even double-digit growth for its small cars, including the Buick Verano, the Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Sonic.

All GM saw higher sales than in the last April four brands. Cadillac sales rose 34 percent to hit the market, while Buick and Chevrolet were both 11 per cent as the new ATS and XTS.

Blocking an unexpected event which causes, a real estate price that reduce or soaring job losses, there is little to stop sales grow in the next years other industry analysts say.

"I don't see major obstacles on the horizon," said Alec Gutierrez, a senior market analyst at Kelley Blue Book. "I see no step back, we provided the unemployment rate holds at least stable."

Unemployment in the United States is unchanged high 7.6 percent, however, which has slowed down clearly still not auto sales.

Apart from unemployment, almost every factor that affects car and truck sales is positive. The interest rates are low--the average four-year loan on a new car is 2.4 percent, according to Bankrate.com. Credit is available everywhere, even for those with low levels. Used car values are high, so that car buyers can get good money if they trade in their old cars. Leasing offers are good. Gas prices have fallen since February.

In addition is home building on the rise by 7 per cent from February to March. This means usually better sales of large pickup trucks as companies and workers back to the market. Kelley Blue Book expects large pickup sales to more than 26 percent in April to rise compared to a year ago.

Many businesses and consumers need to replace older trucks and cars. The average age of a US vehicle is 11.2 years. In addition, automakers have rolled out dozens of exciting new models last year drawing buyers into showrooms.

"Relatively low gas prices coupled with small business demand improvement for truck a strong result for small and large pickups in April led", said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for pricing website TrueCar.com car.

A category that is growing is small crossover SUV. Sales rise, expected 22.5 percent to Kelley Blue Book. Fuel-efficient models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V and the Mazda CX-5 driving sales rise, Gutierrez said.

Kelley Blue book estimates, the car prices slightly in the opposite fell April to an average of $31.326 a year ago.

Though the year is to strong for auto sales, Gutierrez said not to expect the double-digit growth rates of the past two years. He expects U.S. auto sales to the end of the year around 15.3 million cars and trucks, up 5.5 percent from last year's 14.5 million.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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2011 car sales end with a surge

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Losing momentum: the new 2012 Toyota Camry.

By Joseph Szczesny, TheDetroitBureau.com

Countering earlier concerns about a double-dip recession, U.S. auto sales wrapped up a skittish 2011 on a positive note, surging in the final weeks of the year, with Detroit’s automakers helping drive the overall market to its highest level since the start of the long economic downturn.

Overall sales of new cars, trucks and crossovers increased by 10.2% during 2011, largely paced by a surge in demand for domestic brands. General Motors, Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. all finished 2011 with double-digit increases over the previous year. Vollkswagen also reported a 26% gain for 2011 as its new lineup of cars – especially the American-made 2012 VW Passat – has clicked with customers.

Chrysler Group reported U.S. sales of 138,019 units, a 37% increase compared with sales in December 2010 and the group’s best monthly volume since May 2008.

Ford Motor Co. also reported a 16% increase, while GM reported a modest 5% increase.

For the year, Chrysler Group sales totaled 1.37 million units, up 26% versus sales in 2010, the largest percentage sales gain of any full-line manufacturer. The Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram Truck brands each posted solid sales gains during 2011 compared with 2010.

Ford sales finished 2011 with a 17% increase as the flagship “Blue Oval” brand saw sales top 2 million units for the first time since 2007.

Meanwhile, with Chevrolet gaining momentum from a variety of new and older models, GM reported a 14% increase.

“The year finished on a high note, with industry sales momentum strengthening as the year came to a close,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. “We saw Ford sales strengthen as well, posting our best December retail sales month since 2005 and closing the year as America’s best-selling brand.”

Reid Bigland, Chrysler Group US Sales chief, noted December marked Chrysler Group’s 21st-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains and seventh-consecutive month of sales increases of at least 20%.

“Chrysler Group finished a year of growth on a strong note with our December retail sales soaring 45% to our highest dealer retail sales in four years,” Bigland said.  “Looking back, we were the fastest-growing automaker in the country, increasing our market share 1.3%age points during 2011,” he said.

The group’s 37% December increase was driven in part by strong sales of the Chrysler 300 flagship sedan, Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan, Dodge Charger and Avenger sport sedans, Ram pickup truck, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Compass.

Despite concerns about rising inventories, Chrysler Group finished the month with a comfortable 64-day supply of inventory (326,087 units). U.S. industry sales figures for December are projected at an estimated 14 million SAAR.

Royal Oak-based Saab Car USA also reported selling 270 vehicles, down significantly from the 1,074 units sold in December, 2010. However, Saab managed to increase its overall sales in the U.S. despite the financial troubles that forced it into bankruptcy.

Porsche Cars USA also reported a 15% increase in sales for 2011.

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Car dealers see unusual November sales surge

DETROIT — Car dealers are getting a surprise end-of-the-year bonus: More Americans are replacing old cars and trucks, enlivening a normally sleepy time for auto sales and putting November on track to be the industry's strongest month of the year.

Dealers and analysts say people are finally getting rid of cars and trucks they've held onto for more than a decade. That demand, plus attractive lease deals, an ample supply of Japanese models and promotions on remaining 2011 models have drawn buyers to showrooms in large numbers the last two weeks.

"We're seeing the most showroom traffic that we've seen all year," said Ed Williamson, part-owner of two Miami-area GM Buick-Cadillac-GMC dealerships.

The spike in activity comes after months of sputtering sales. Consumers have been reluctant to take on major debt such as car payments because of the uncertain job market. Unemployment has been around 9 percent for more than two years with no sign of significant improvement.

Sales also suffered when Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. ran short of models during the summer and early fall because of factory disruptions caused by the earthquake in Japan and flooding in Thailand.

Now supplies are starting to return to normal, and customers have a better selection.

So far this year, sales have been better than 2010, an annual rate of 12.6 million compared with 11.5 million, but that's still far short of the 2005 peak of 17 million.

Recent sales have been so strong that General Motors' top sales executive predicts that November figures will hit an annual rate of around 13.8 million light vehicles in the U.S. That's a big step up from last November, when the auto industry was just starting to recover from the economic meltdown. Back then, the sales rate was only 12.3 million.

After years of holding off on purchases, people are tiring of their old cars and trucks. So despite a volatile stock market, high unemployment and worries that the European debt crisis could destabilize the global financial system, people are buying, said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for the TrueCar.com auto pricing website.

The average age of a car on U.S. roads is now a record 10.6 years, according to the Polk auto industry research firm. Vehicles are so old that people's lives have changed and they need different models, or their cars are just worn out, he said.

"They just simply couldn't wait any longer," he said.

In Houston, physician David Vener was among those who kept an old car for a long time. But he parted Monday with his 1999 Lexus sport utility vehicle, which had 135,000 miles. He traded it in at River Oaks Jeep for a new Grand Cherokee.

The Lexus, he said, had been almost trouble-free for the last 13 years, but it was facing some expensive repairs. Also, it didn't have side air bags and other safety features that newer cars have, he said.

"After three teenage boys and a lot of miles, it was beginning to show its wear and tear," Vener said. "It was getting a little long in the tooth."

Lease deals also are drawing people into showrooms, Toprak said, with November leases approaching an annual high. Leases had been just above 20 percent of the U.S. market during the year, but this month they're running about 25 percent.

Low interest rates and strong resale values after leases have ended help car companies offer deals.

This month, GM has deals that require no money down. A Cadillac CTS luxury sports sedan is leasing for $399 per month, down from $429 to $439 in October, Williamson said.

Also, dealers are clearing out the remaining 2011 models. And by this time of year, automakers normally offer good discounts to get them sold. Numerous 2012 models are attracting buyers, too, Toprak said.

But even the usual discounts on older models don't normally bring out so many customers in November, when sales nearly always slow down as temperatures drop and people get caught up in the holidays.

Don Johnson, vice president of sales for General Motors Corp., told industry analysts Tuesday that recent data show some strengthening in the U.S. economy.

"We continue to believe that the industry will grow," Johnson said. "It will grow slowly with the economy."

At Chuck Eddy Jr.'s Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Fiat dealership near Youngstown, Ohio, November sales are on pace to beat October, when Eddy sold 95 new cars and trucks.

"I'm on track to do 125, 130 this month," Eddy said. That will be "the biggest November I've ever had."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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