American Automakers Release November Sales Figures

All major car manufacturers – Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, and Honda – are reporting monthly sales figures today. November U.S. sales for General Motors

rose 3 percent from last year. Car sales were up 19 percent, while truck sales were down 11 percent. The company stated that they sold more than 186,000 cars and trucks, with the Buick and Cadillac brands taking the lead on volume sold. Cadillac sales were up 30 percent from a year ago, with SRX crossover SUV sales up 13 percent. Buick sales were up 22 percent. Chevrolet sales, meanwhile, stayed flat, with sales of the Silverado pick-up truck falling 10.4 percent. GMC sales fell by 1 percent. Ford Motor Company

announced an increase in November sales of 6.4 percent versus an expected gain of only 2.4 percent. Ford sold a total of 177,673 vehicles in November, a 6 percent increase from last year. Its retail sales rose by 12 percent. There was growth across the board for the month, with car sales up 15 percent, utilities up 2 percent, and trucks up 4 percent. Small cars also had a great month, with the Focus, the all-new C-MAX Hybrid, and the Fiesta combining for a total 26,848 vehicles sold – a 76 percent increase overall from last year. Year-ago sales for the Focus were up 56 percent, while sales for the C-MAX Hybrid were up 52 percent from October, the first month the new hybrids were on the market. The Ford F-Series posted an 18 percent increase, selling 56,299 vehicles in November. This is the best November for sales of the F-Series since 2005, and represents 16 consecutive months of year-over-year sales increases. In addition to announcing their sales figures, Ford put forth their North American production plan for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. It includes building 750,000 vehicles, up 11 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Chrysler Group LLC announced a 14 percent increase in November sales from last year, though analysts had predicted 16 percent. Despite not quite hitting the projected mark, this was Chrysler's best November in five years, with Dodge brand sales up 32 percent, and newly-acquired Fiat brand up a record-breaking 123 percent.