November Car Sales Exceed Expectations

DETROIT (WWJ) - Car and truck sales soared in November, coming in better than analysts expected, with the strongest sales at the retail level.

All three of the domestic automakers posting solid gains, with GM up 7 percent, Ford up 13 percent, and Chrysler leading the way with a 45 percent sales increase.

While some of this appears to be caused by pent-up demand being relieved, GM sales operations manager Don Johnson says we're also starting to see more signs of an economic recovery.

"The conference board reported that consumer confidence saw the biggest gain last month since 2003," he said. "We're starting to weed out some of that volatility in the last couple of months, which is contributing to consumer confidence."

On the retail level, GM's sales were up 15 percent. Chrysler's retail sales were up 51 percent.

It was a very good month for the Chrysler brand.

"The Chrysler 300, our flagship sedan and the Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan both did very well," said Chrysler spokesman Ralph Kisiel. "Sales of the 300 were actually up 215 percent."

Overall, Chrysler brand sales were up 92 percent.

Analysts say Chrysler has been helped by a lot of new products. Same thing with Volkswagen, which posted a 41 percent sales increase.

"As proof of the power of third-party accolades, the U.S.-built Passat likely got a boost from being named the Motor Trend car of the year," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Edmunds.com. "Volkswagen's big challenge is to sell more Tiguans, which compete in the fast-growing small crossover segment."

Nissan says its sales were up 14 percent.

"Nissan, which rebounded quickly from the Japanese earthquake disaster, gained further momentum in November with strength across the board from cars to trucks," said Krebs. "Nissan incentives are highest of the Big Three Japanese, as the company is attempting to take advantage of the slower recovery of competitors Honda and Toyota."

November saw sales grow as the month went on. Thanksgiving weekend was pretty strong.

"There's no doubt there was a bit of an uptick at the end of the month," said GM'S Don Johnson. "But, I wouldn't say that the uptick was quite as big on the automotive side as it was for other retailers."

Analysts were expecting a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate around 13.5 million. Johnson says when all the numbers are counted, it could approach 14 million.

Ford sales chief Ken Czubay sees the positive sales trend continuing.

"The industry sales rate has exceeded 13 million in each of the last three months," he said. "This suggests the current momentum is not an aberration. We believe replacement demand will continue to support stronger levels in 2012."

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