Final 2010 Car Sales to See Solid Gains

by Jeff Gilbert
WWJ AutoBeat Reporter

2011 is expected to see a car sales improvement of more than 10.5 per cent, with much of that gain coming in the final three months of the year.

The final numbers will be reported on Tuesday.

While the auto industry is believed to have sold about 11.5 million vehicles last year, analysts say sales in December likely ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 12.3 million units.  That would be the third consecutive month the industry topped the 12 million rate.

Much of the recent growth has been in retail sales.  Fleet sales kept the industry going earlier in the year.

Most major indexes show consumer confidence rising as 2010 came to a close.

Toyota is expected to be the only major automaker to see a sales decrease for 2010.  It was dragged down by recalls and quality concerns.  It also had a better year in 2009 than most auto companies.

Because of this, Ford is expected to regain the number two sales spot in the U.S.  General Motors will remain at the top.  Its sales rose in 2010, even though it had four brands, compared to seven brands in 2009.

Chrysler is ending the year on a particularly high note, with several new products in the marketplace.   The new Jeep Grand Cherokee is off to such a strong start that the company kept its Jefferson North Assembly Plant open last week, when most other auto plants were closed.

Analysts expect 2011 car sales to run in the 12.5 to 13 million unit range.  They say it will be several years before sales return to the 16-17 million rate we saw before the recession.

Follow Jeff Gilbert on Twitter @jefferygilbert