General Motors Co posted a 7.5 percent rise in December US auto sales and said it expects the industry to report sales at a 13 million-vehicle annualised rate for last month - far higher than many forecasts and what would be the highest rate of 2010. The December results capped a year of gradual recovery for the industry overall that is expected to continue in the new year.
GM said sales rose 16 percent in its four remaining US brands in December from a year earlier, led by percentage gains in Buick and GMC. Retail sales to consumers jumped in the month and it reduced sales to rental car companies. GM said results were led by a 42 percent jump in sales of its crossovers in December from a year earlier. The automaker also sold 29 percent more full-sized pickup trucks, most of those 2011 model year vehicles that command higher prices.
A year after its 2009 bankruptcy, and less than two months after its largest-ever IPO, GM remains the top-selling automaker in the United States. GM's US sales rose 6.3 percent to 2.2 million in 2010 from the prior year. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect automakers to report sales at a 12.3 million vehicle annualised rate in December, which would be the third consecutive month above the 12 million unit annualised rate followed by economists. Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co, Chrysler Group LLC and Nissan Motor Co are expected to report US sales results later on Tuesday.