(December 10, 2012) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar.com today highlights the major trends from November 2012 auto sales and looks into December 2012 auto sales. And predicts that December may be an even stronger sales month than November.

TrueCar reports:

    • Industry sales increased a very healthy 15 percent compared to November 2011, resulting in a SAAR of 15.54 million, the highest since December 2007

    • TrueCar estimates that the aftermath of Sandy contributed a minimum of 30,000 additional sales to November sales totals and those numbers will increase for December sales

    • Nissan had the biggest sequential monthly sales (up 21 percent) and market share increase in November, surpassing Hyundai/Kia in the industry sales ranking for the month

    • The gap between the Top 3 automakers in the U.S. narrowed in November, particularly with Ford coming within about 9,000 units of GM for the top spot

    • Average transaction prices reached an all time high at $30,832. Chrysler had the highest ratio of incentives/ATP at 10.6 percent and Toyota had the lowest at 6.6 percent. Industry average was 8.2 percent, down from 8.6 percent a year ago

    • December early forecast shows the month tracking at 1.43 million units, adding up to 14.56 million total units sold for 2012. TrueCar's 2013 forecast is 15.4 million units

    • Large trucks could have the highest unit sales in December since 2008 due to increased incentive spending by automakers

"November was one of the strongest months in over four years and we project that December could end up being a bigger month," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar.com. "Combination of great products and attractive finance/lease promotions in addition to a boost from replacement demand created by Sandy will ensure a solid finish to the best year in car sales since 2007."

Here's how the top eight manufacturers fared in November 2012: