Chrysler and GM Gains Drive Best U.S. Auto Sales Rate Since 2007

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC gains led November U.S. auto sales that accelerated to the fastest pace in more than five years as dealers stepped up promotion of year-end offers to try to control rising inventory.

Deliveries of cars and light trucks rose 16 percent for Chrysler, 14 percent for GM and more than 10 percent for Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. The carmakers led a rise in the industry’s monthly annualized industry sales rate, adjusted for seasonal trends, to 16.4 million, the highest since February 2007, according to researcher Autodata Corp.

Automakers entered a year-end sales push last month with their biggest supply of cars and trucks in eight years, a buildup that was poised to test the industry’s newfound pricing discipline. Dealers introduced more aggressive year-end marketing campaigns than in past years to try to draw shoppers to showrooms with Black Friday promotions and cheap financing.

“Dealers were seeing the opportunity to piggyback on this shopping phenomenon,” said Dave Winslow, chief digital strategist at Dealer.com, which provides digital advertising and marketing services. “When you compound that with the high inventory levels, it’s a good opportunity for them to really reduce those in the final few weeks of the year.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Chrysler-and-GM-Gains-Drive-Best-U-S-Auto-Sales-5031772.php

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I imagine that another factor is that people have now driven their jalopies into the ground

because they were holding off on new wheels as long as possible and are now desperate because there are so few decent used cars on the market.

[kimbutgar]

2. I drove a 1996 gran prix and finally had to break down in 2011 and buy a new car

But I actually miss that 1996 with its cassette player. My other car is a 2003 with over 100,000 miles so I take public transportation more these days.