November Car Sales Pointing Toward Recovery

 November car sales showing strong signs that the economy is recovering.

 Sales, on average, are up 15 per cent over last year, with an annual sales rate of 12 and a half million units. That's even with a strong October.

"We're continuing to see consumers coming back into showrooms and doing so without strong incentives," said J.D. Power director of global forecasting Jeff Schuster.

WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert talks car sales with JD Power's Jeff Schuster.

Hyundai lead the industry, with a 45 per cent sales gain. While Toyota, still feeling the impact of its recall issues, was the only major brand to see its sales off. They were down three per cent.

Hyundai expecting to end a record year on a strong note.

"We have agressive plans in place to sustain this momentum into December and leverage a healthy holiday selling season to finish out this record-breaking year with a flourish," said Hyundai sales vice President Dave Zuchowski, in a statement.

The domestic three all posting strong gains, with Ford sales up 24 per cent, Chrysler 17 per cent and GM 11.4 per cent.

"We've got gains in cars, utilities and trucks," said George Pipas, Ford's sales analysis manager. "The year to date gain is around 21 per cent that's about double the industry average."

Behind GM's strong performance, was a great showing among the four remaining "core brands", up a combined 21 per cent.

"Overall, I think consumers are starting to feel better," said Jim Bunnell, who's general manager of the dealer network and sales support at GM . "It remains cautious. We remain very optimistic here as we look into next year."

Bunnell telling WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert that November ended on a strong note, with a very good Thanksgiving weekend.

"Based on our numbers, on the retail side, it was up six per cent," he said. "Just anecdotal feedback, and as we look at our close from our dealers, there was a lot of folks out shopping, buying cars. We had a very nice close."

Analysts from the web site Edmunds.com believe it was the perception of good deals that drew customers to showrooms over the extended holiday weekend.

"Once again, perception trumped reality as car-shoppers pursued expected bargains during a traditional holiday deal weekend," stated Jessica Caldwell, Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com, in a written statement. "In truth, incentives simply aren't increasing at the rates suggested by the year-end advertising campaigns."

It was another good month for crossovers and pickup trucks. But new small cars like the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Cruze are off to a good start.

Most carmakers had good news to report. Nissan posted a 27 per cent sales hike, Volkswagen up 24 per cent and Subaru posting a 22 per cent gain from last year. Honda sales were up 16 per cent year over year.

Sales at the retail level have been relatively strong for the past three months, allowing analysts, like J.D. Power's Jeff Schuster to start talking about a genuine, but slow, recovery.

"We've been really hesitant to say that, going back to one month doesn't make a trend," he said. "But, I think, three months, we're starting to see a real trend there."

Follow Jeff Gilbert on Twitter @jefferygilbert