The strong performance of most car companies indicated that total sales for this year would exceed most forecasts and suggested that the industry’s revival would continue into 2013.
Preliminary figures showed that 1.14 million vehicles were sold in November, in contrast to 994,000 in the same month a year ago, according to the research firm Autodata.
That pace translates into a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of about 15.5 million vehicles — the highest rate recorded since January 2008.
“November was a very good month, but December has the potential to be even better,” said Jesse Toprak, chief analyst for the auto information Web site TrueCar.com.
Analysts said from 20,000 to 30,000 sales during the month were tied to consumers replacing vehicles that were flooded or destroyed in the hurricane that decimated portions of the East Coast in late October.
Estimates of damaged vehicles have run as high as 200,000, but Mr. Toprak said only about one-fourth of those cars would be replaced with new ones.
“The replacement value will in most cases only be enough to replace a used car with another used car,” he said.
The main reasons for the healthy sales in November were the same ones that had driven the overall industry this year — the need to replace aging cars on the road and the steady supply of fresh, new models with superior fuel economy.
General Motors, the nation’s largest automaker, had one of the weaker performances among the major car companies. G.M. said its November sales increased just 3.4 percent, mostly because of a drop in truck sales.
G.M. plans to replace its current pickup trucks next year with new versions, but is losing ground to competitors in the segment in the interim.
The company also did not benefit much from hurricane-related sales because its market share is lower than Japanese rivals in some of the affected areas.
Ford Motor Company reported that its sales during the month were up 6.4 percent, primarily because of the popularity of its small Focus sedan and C-Max hybrid models.
Ford, in fact, trailed G.M. by fewer than 10,000 sales during November, with General Motors selling 186,000 vehicles in contrast to Ford’s 177,000.
Chrysler, the smallest of Detroit’s three carmakers, continued its stellar results this year with a 14.4 percent increase in the month. Over all, Chrysler sold 122,000 vehicles, including 3,600 cars made by its Italian parent company, Fiat.
The two largest Japanese automakers, Toyota and Honda, posted sizable increases that were partly attributed to the replacement of storm-battered vehicles.
Toyota said its November sales jumped 17.2 percent, to 161,000 vehicles, and Honda reported a 38.9 percent increase, to 116,000. Honda’s large market share in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut was cited by analysts as a key factor in its overall results.
“Honda is the most popular brand in the tristate area,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with the car research site Edmunds.com. “So when life returned to normal, those car buyers quickly made up for lost time.”
Nissan, the third major Japanese car company, said its sales increased 12.9 percent during the month, to 96,000 vehicles.
The German automakers Volkswagen and BMW did well in November, partly on the strength of revamped versions of top sellers such as the VW Passat and the BMW 3-series.
Industry executives said positive economic conditions should propel sales even higher next year. In particular, an increase in housing starts has encouraged some businesses to begin buying new pickup trucks and utility vehicles.
The executives, however, said there was some concern about the outcome of discussions in Washington to avert the package of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to go into effect at the end of the year.
“Until we can see some resolution, we are going to be conservative and not issue a sales forecast for 2013,” said Kurt McNeil, G.M.’s head of United States sales operations.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/business/automakers-report-strong-november-sales.html?partner=rss&emc=rss