(December 2, 2016) U.S. vehicle sales rose 3.6 percent in November  from a year earlier, helped by more generous deals and strong truck demand. It was the first time in three months that sales were up year over year. Ford, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and General Motors posted increases as a rise in incentive spending helped put the industry back on a winning track.

Industrywide sales hit a record for the month — 1.378 million — easily topping the 1.328 million mark in Nov. 2001. Light-truck deliveries, behind double-digit increases in sales of crossovers and pickups, jumped 8.6 percent last month, while the car market continued to slump, with demand off 3.9 percent.

The seasonally adjusted, annualized sales rate remained strong but dropped to 17.83 million from this year’s highest rate — October’s 17.98 million — and the 18.07 million pace in November 2015, the second-strongest month of last year.

A 10 percent gain at GM and a 4.3 percent rise at Toyota marked their strongest advances this year. Nissan climbed 7.5 percent, while Ford ended a four-month skid. The Volkswagen brand soared 24 percent. Fiat Chrysler was the exception among major automakers, tumbling 14 percent as fleet deliveries shrank.

“Strong retail sales increases for both F-150 and our all-new Super Duty pickups drove F-Series above the 70,000 vehicle mark – a November threshold we have not seen in 15 years,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service at Ford. “Plus, strong consumer demand for well-equipped Super Dutys helped boost Ford’s overall average transaction prices in November, which are up $1,000 versus a year ago — well ahead of the industry average of $320.”

“GM’s November performance reflects the continued strength of our U.S. business.  We gained profitable retail share, commercial and small business deliveries were strong and we commanded the industry’s best average transaction prices,” said Kurt McNeil, GM’s vice president of U.S. Sales Operations.

“We are ahead of plan selling down our 2016 model year inventory and we expect to close out December with more retail share growth. GM is heading into 2017 in a position of strength with the planned launch of key new products, like the all-new Chevrolet Equinox, into the heart of the market.”

While overall sales at Fiat Chrysler were down, Ram Truck brand sales were up 12 percent in November versus the same month in 2015. Ram ProMaster van sales increased 126 percent in November, while Ram pickup truck sales increased 8 percent. The Jeep Renegade small SUV had a strong November with a 30 percent sales gain, while sales of the Fiat 500 were up 18 percent compared with the same month a year ago.

Sources: Manufacturers, Automotive News