It's A 'November to Remember' For Car And Truck Sales With Best-Ever Numbers
AUBURN HILLS, MI -- (WWJ) "Black Friday" was great for car dealers, pushing the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate above the 18 million mark for the third month in a row, putting the month on a pace to be the best November ever.
"Aggressive holiday deals coupled with an improving US economy is lifting the vehicle market to record levels," said IHS Automotive Senior Economist Charles Chesbrough. "Momentum keeps building as low gas prices and an improving jobs market are resulting in growth in vehicle sales. Buying conditions are very favorable and continue to support a robust market, and this strength will likely continue until interest rates rise to a level significantly above where they stand today."
Most of the numbers are in the single digit range, but they compare to a strong November of 2014, with two fewer selling days.
"We have to take some of these sales increases, with a grain of salt," said Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell. "Last November was a standout of the entire 2014 calendar year."
Fiat Chrysler sales, for example rose three percent.
"Despite having two less selling days this November, FCA US still recorded its best November sales since 2000 and our 68th-consecuitve month of year-over-year sales increases," said Reid Bigland, Head of U.S. Sales. "The favorable I.O.U. environment of low interest rates, oil prices, and unemployment, coupled with our strongest product line up ever, continues to be a significant driver of FCA sales."
Once again the Jeep brand lead the way, with a 20 percent sales increase. But seven Fiat Chrysler vehicles set sales records in November.
At GM sales rose two percent.
"What's happening is the crossover segment has just lit on fire," said GM spokesman Jim Cain. "It's at 40 percent of sales right now."
Ford sales were essentially flat, up just under half a percent. But, it was a very strong month for the new F-150.
"We saw strong customer demand for our cars and SUVs with the latest technology and sold a very rich mix in November," said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. "F-Series and commercial vans also were very strong, with an 18 percent gain for the month and our best November sales performance for Ford Trucks in eight years."
Analysts say sales were helped by strong "Black Friday" promotions, as well as low gas prices and low interest rates.
"The holiday promotions not only increased the deals out there, but the noise around them," said AutoTrader.com analyst Michelle Krebs. You couldn't turn on the television and not see these incentives."
There were some notable exceptions. Volkswagen, hurt by its emission cheating scandal, saw sales off by 25 percent.
"Volkswagen is working tirelessly on an approved remedy for the affected TDI vehicles. During this time we would like to thank our dealers and customers for their continued patience and loyalty," said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America.
Honda, coming off of a very strong November of 2014, saw sales declining five percent. Nissan sales rose four percent. Toyota sales were up three percent.
This sets things up for a strong December, and a year that LMC Automotive Analyst Jeff Schuster says will now certainly break the all time sales record of 17.4 million set in 2000.
"Without question this is going to be a record year at this stage, given at where November is coming in. It's just a matter of how much."
Connect with Jeff Gilbert
Email: jdgilbert@cbs.com
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