(August 2, 2013) Strong retail sales of cars and trucks lifted the U.S. auto industry to its best July in seven years. Analysts believe the momentum could propel the industry to nearly 16 million sales by year’s end, which would be the best year since 2007.

Automakers sold nearly 1.32 million cars and light trucks during the month, a 14 percent increase from the same period a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. That translates into a seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate of 15.67 million cars and trucks, up from the 14.09 million sales rate of the same period year ago. Total sales in 2012 were 14.49 million.

Honda, Toyota and General Motors posted gains of 16 percent or more in July, outpacing rivals Ford, Chrysler and Nissan , each with an 11 percent increase. Subaru led everyone with a 43 percent advance in a month in which no automaker declined.

Sales of pickups, up 23.2 percent compared to July 2012, made up 14 percent of all new-vehicle sales last month. That growth is expected to continue for the rest of the year.

GM, Ford and Chrysler continue to benefit from surging demand for large pickups as the housing, construction and energy markets expand. With the increase in large truck volume outpacing the industry's overall sales pace, the Detroit 3 have gained U.S. market share this year.

Sales of GM's full-sized pickups soared 44 percent to more than 60,000, with the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra representing 15 percent of the total, the company said. GM's car deliveries jumped 24 percent.

GM's four brands each produced double-digit sales advances, led by an increase of 17 percent at Cadillac and Chevrolet. It was the biggest gain for Chevrolet -- GM's volume brand -- since March 2012.

“For GM, July was the most well-balanced month of the year from a retail sales standpoint: trucks were hot, but so were small cars and family vehicles,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations. “Our experience shows that the difference between good sales and great sales in a slow-growth economy is how many new products you have to offer, and we are starting to hit our sweet spot.”

“We saw continued strength and growth in our retail business, particularly in the coastal regions of the country,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “Our small cars and hybrids continue to attract new customers to Ford and away from our competitors, thanks to the vehicles’ combination of styling, technology, fuel economy and performance.”

"Solid industry sales in July point to a stable market indicating a recovering economy,” said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. “Consumer confidence also maintained elevated levels as evidenced by strong retail sales. For Toyota, we saw growth year-over-year with July sales up more than 16.5 percent.”

Nissan said its July deliveries were paced by a 17 percent increase at the Nissan brand, offsetting a 33 percent drop at Infiniti. Sales of the Nissan Altima climbed 11 percent to nearly 30,000 units, while Versa deliveries jumped 21 percent to more than 9,000.

Hyundai Motor America's U.S. sales rose 6 percent to a July record of 66,005 units, with demand for the Santa Fe rising 48 percent and Elantra volume advancing 29 percent, CEO John Krafcik tweeted on Thursday.

Mazda's sales advanced 29 percent in July — its biggest gain in 18 months — on a 53 percent increase in light truck volume and a 18 percent advance in car deliveries.

Record July sales of the Forester, Outback and Impreza pushed Subaru's U.S. sales up 43 percent to 35,994 — enough to outsell the VW brand and keep Subaru on track to set another high mark for annual U.S. volume. "At our current pace, selling 400,000 vehicles in 2013 is certainly within reach," said Bill Cyphers, senior vice president of sales for Subaru of America.

Volkswagen posted a 3 percent decrease in sales with steady demand for the Passat and Jetta failing to make up for a lack of new products and tougher competition in the small and mid-sized sedan segments. Jetta sales are down 2 percent for the year, with 94,684 units sold through July. Passat sales spiked 12 percent in July and are up 3 percent for the year, with 66,170 units sold.

Sources: Automobile manufacturers, Automotive News, The Detroit News