November auto sales show big gains

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DETROIT, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. automakers General Motors Co., Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. each posted sales gains in November, with the strongest gains at Chrysler.

Chrysler, the smallest of the three, said sales rose 45 percent in the month. At Ford, sales rose 13 percent from the same month a year ago. At GM, sales rose 7 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

At Japanese rival Nissan, sales rose 19 percent from November 2010.

GM said truck sales rose 25 percent from a year earlier, while automobile sales rose 1 percent, a strong sign that the popular and more lucrative large cars have not been abandoned by recession-weary consumers.

"Truck sales showed a very solid increase, as we expected, but the momentum building behind our most fuel-efficient vehicles was even stronger," said GM sales chief for the United States Don Johnson.

Ford said its retail truck and SUV sales also climbed 25 percent to 118,543 sold in November.

Sales of passenger vehicles at Ford were down nearly 9 percent to 48,322 from November 2010.

GM said sales were on pace for overall U.S. vehicle sales to reach 14 million. A year earlier, in November 2010, the annual pace for the industry was 12.3 million vehicle sales.