Chrysler Group said November new-vehicle sales were up 16%, its best November since 2007.
It was the automaker's 44th consecutive month of sales gains.
The
automaker said its long-delayed Cherokee SUV, replacement for the
Liberty, had a strong month, notching 10,169 sales. It was the
Cherokee's first full month in showrooms.
The launch was delayed
while Chrysler engineers continued to tune the new nine-speed automatic
transmission to ensure it worked in all two-wheel and four-wheel drive
modes.
A few Cherokees trickled into dealers in October, but supplies only now are robust.
The company's Chrysler Town & Country family van was up a hefty 70%.
Chrysler's
Fiat 500 sales were down dramatically, the base model off 41% and the
new, larger 500L unable to attract enough buyers to compensate.
The automaker's brand highlights:
•The minivan sales jump more than wiped out slumps by the 200 and 300 sedans, leaving the namesake brand up 12% for the month.
•Jeep was up 30% on strong showings by all models. Grand Cherokee's 14,798 sales, up 9%, kept it the brand's best-seller.
•Dodge
was up 4%, its Dart compact finally gaining significant momentum. Dart
sales of 6,486 were up 44%. Charger and Caravan both did well, while
Avenger plunged and Challenger slipped slightly.
•Ram truck brand
zipped 25% mainly on the strength of a 22% jump by the Ram pickup, to
29,635. New commercial vans not in the lineup a year ago added the rest.
GENERAL MOTORS:
Powered
by healthy response to its redesigned Chevrolet Impala, updated Chevy
Malibu and remade full-size Chevy and GMC pickups, General Motors
reported a sales jump of 14% in November, to 212,060, for the
automaker's best November in six years.
"November sales were
strong at all four of our brands, and demand was robust for everything
from cars to crossovers to" pickups, said Kurt McNeil, vice president in
charge of GM's U.S. sales operations.
Impala was up 20.2% on the strength of a full redesign.
Malibu zipped 40.9%. The mid-size sedan recently got interior and drivetrain updates.
Chevy Silverado was up 12.1% and the similar GMC Sierra rose 22.5%.
FORD MOTOR:
Ford
Motor's November sales rose 7% to 190,449, as its car sales zoomed 51%
and its F-series trucks hits 60,000 sales for the seventh consecutive
month.
Even moribund Lincoln had a pulse, up 17% powered by a 114% increase in MKZ sales, though that was still a modest 2,854.
The automaker reported continued momentum on the import-biased coasts, where it has had trouble making converts.
Fusion had its best November.
Ford
forecast production of 770,000 vehicles the first quarter of next year,
down from 784,000 a year earlier, but flat with this quarter.
VOLKSWAGEN:
Despite
a dearth of new models leading to a sales drop of 16.3%, Volkswagen
said its November sales of 30,727 were the second-best for that month
since 1973.
Beetle was the only bright spot, up 43%, but the
number still was a modest 2,842, entirely due to the strength of the
convertible.
Jetta, the brand's best-seller, was off 12.9%.
Passat, the mainstream mid-size sedan made at Chattanooga, Tenn., was down 15.8%.
VW will have a redesigned Golf on sale early next year, which could help. And Jetta is updated next year, also a likely boon.
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