Black Friday proved to be very green for automakers, as U.S. light-vehicle sales accelerated during the month of November. A total of 1.24 million cars and trucks rolled off dealership lots during the month, and put overall sales up 8.6 percent compared to November of last year. According to AutoWeek, it was the best November since 2003 and just over 84,000 units shy of the industry’s best November ever. The numbers have been released by WardsAuto.com. Their data center provides the most trusted numbers for new car sales.
New vehicle sales rose across the board for Detroit’s three automakers. Chrysler extended its streak of year-over-year sales gains to 44-consecutive months in November. The automaker said US sales increased 16 percent to 142,275 vehicles, its best November since 2007. General Motors, the nation’s largest auto manufacturer, said sales climbed 14 percent to 212,060 from 186,505 a year ago. Ford, the second largest U.S. automaker, reported its overall sales increased 7 percent to 185,200 vehicles. According to a press release from the Ford Motor Company, retails sales were up 9 percent, for the best November performance since 2004.
The big Japanese automakers posted mixed sales figures for November 2013. Toyota, the largest Japanese car manufacturer, reported that it sold 178,044 cars and trucks last month, a 10 percent gain from the same month in 2012. Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager, credited the holiday weekend for the surge in showroom traffic. Meanwhile, Honda’s overall sales slipped 0.1 percent from November 2012 results.
So far a total of 14.2 million cars and trucks have been sold here in the U.S. during 2013, an 8.3 percent improvement over last year at this time.
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