Ford Predicts Return of 17 Million-Vehicle Annual U.S. Sales

Ford Motor Co. expects U.S. deliveries of light vehicles to climb to 17 million units annually in the next few years, the Financial Times reports. The country's auto sales last topped that level in 2001.

CEO Alan Mulally tells the London-based newspaper that rising employment and strong consumer confidence based on a rebounding American economy will sustain the auto industry's recent sales boom.

Mulally says that with an average vehicle age of 11 years in the U.S., pent-up demand will provide a "turbo-boost" to car sales. He predicts that in the long term, annual volume will range between 15 million and 17 million vehicles.

U.S. auto sales peaked at 17.35 million units in 2000, dipped only to 17.12 million in 2001 and remained above 16 million units until the recession hit in 2008. Demand fell to a 27-year low of 10.43 million vehicles in 2009. Sales last month reach a 16 million-unit annual rate.