U.S. Car Sales Climb 9% in November

Sales of cars and light trucks in the U.S. totaled 1.25 million last month, up 101,500 units from a year earlier.

Truck sales jumped 12% to 647,200 units, retaining 52% of the American market for the second consecutive month. Car sales advanced 6% to 598,100 units.

November's annualized sales rate zoomed to 16.4 million from 15.2 million in the October and 15.3 million a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. It was the market's strongest November in nearly seven years.

Demand for traditional U.S. brands climbed 14% to 212,100 units at General Motors, 7% to 189,700 units at Ford and 17% to 139,200 units at Chrysler.

Combined sales of Asian vehicles rose 8%, but results were mixed. November volumes rose at Toyota (+10% to 178,000 vehicles), Nissan (+11% to 106,500 units), Hyundai (+5% to 56,000), Kia (+11% to 45,400) and Subaru (+30% to 36,600). Sales for Honda were flat at 116,500 vehicles for Honda, as a 16% jump for the company's Acura brand offset a 2% drop for the Honda marque. Demand slid 4% to 20,800 units at Mazda.

European brands reported strong increases for luxury cars but shrinking sales of mainstream models. Total volume was virtually flat, and the group's market share fell nearly one point to 11%.

Volume surged 14% to 36,400 units for Mercedes-Benz, helping the marque maintain its lead in the U.S. over BMW (+2% to 31,800 units). Both brands outperformed Volkswagen, the traditional best-selling European brand in America. VW's year-on-year sales, which fell 18% in October, dropped 16% to 30,700 units in November.

Demand climbed 13% to 13,600 units for Audi, surged 25% to 4,600 units for Land Rover and doubled to 1,400 vehicles for Jaguar. But sales fell at Volvo (-31% to 4,200 units), Mini (-13% to 4,600) and Fiat (-15% to 3,100).