NEW YORK—Automakers reported large gains in sales in November, as an early round of heavy promotions helped move cars out of dealerships at a faster pace than expected.
Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motors, and Hyundai Motors led the charge with double digit gains compared to the same month last year. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., which was severely disrupted by the March Japanese earthquake, reported its first monthly sales gain since April.
Toyota’s sales increased 6.7 percent to 137,960 cars and trucks, the company said. The company was helped by increased popularity of its Prius hybrid line of vehicles, which saw sales jump close to 50 percent. Its new Camry family sedan also gained 13 percent in November.
The performance was a positive surprise for Toyota, which has been battered by supply constraints and other operational difficulties due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year, and floods in Thailand more recently.
Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler said that sales increased 45 percent compared to last November, its best performance in 2011. “In addition to having eight Chrysler Group models recognized as Consumers Digest automotive ‘Best Buys’ for the 2012 model year, we also have picked up countless other vehicle awards this year, which clearly are reflected in our sales success,” said Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales and CEO of Dodge brand, in a statement.
Chrysler, which is owned and operated by Italy’s Fiat S.p.A., said that the sales gain was primarily due to the popularity of its 300 full-size sedan, 200 mid-size sedan, and Jeep SUVs. Jeep sales increased by 50 percent, its best monthly performance since 2003.
South Korea’s Hyundai and its sister brand Kia both excelled, selling 29 percent more cars than last November. “[Kia’s] design-led transformation has raised awareness for the brand and attracted new customers to our showrooms,” Kia CEO Byung Mo Ahn said in a statement.
According to AutoData Corp., industrywide sales totaled 994,721 vehicles, a 14 percent gain from last year and the fastest sales increase since the U.S. federal government offered rebate for trade-ins in mid-2009.
November has typically been a slow month for auto sales as consumers allocate more funds for holiday gift shopping and other usages, but last month’s unexpectedly gain in sales, coupled with November’s updated unemployment rate of 8.6 percent and reports of increase in retail sales from Black Friday weekend, should offer more positive signs for the U.S. economy.
