Fiat Chrysler sales up in what could be a record November

Ford’s US sales chief Mark LaNeve said sales got progressively stronger as November progressed, and the last day of the month was one of the best days this year.

Black Friday promotions – some of which began well before Thanksgiving – were expected to push last month’s sales to near-record levels. The Jeep and Ram Truck brands each announced year-over-year sales gains in November versus with the same month a year earlier.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) said that its USA sales rose 3% in November, giving the Italian-American automaker its 68th consecutive month of US sales gains. While gains at General Motors and Ford fell short of estimates, GM agreed with analysts’ projections that industry-wide sales would reach an 18.2 million annual pace for a record third straight month.

Automakers used early holiday-season dealmaking to keep US sales churning toward a record pace in November, aided by a strengthened economy and cheap fuel prices that whetted buyers’ appetite for trucks.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted the strongest sales gain of the Big Three at 3%.

Once again the Jeep brand lead the way, with a 20 percent sales increase. The Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands all declined from a year ago despite the Town & Country minivan’s 20 percent surge. Year to date, Chrysler 200 sales are up 67% and sales of Chrysler-branded vehicles are up 8%.

WardsAuto is calling for 1.33 million light vehicles to be delivered over November’s 23 selling days-pushing the daily selling rate to a 12.1% improvement from the month past year.

Through October, deliveries across the industry rose 5.8 percent to 14.5 million, spurred by rising incentives, record leasing rates, pent-up demand, and favorable financing and credit availability. Chevrolet sales rose 4.8 per cent, powered by growth in pickups and SUVs. Through November, overall Ford sales are up 5% compared to the same period in 2014. Ford is spending $1.3 billion for an all-new body shop, facility upgrades and retooling to make the new aluminum-bodied Super Duty truck at Kentucky Truck Plant.