Late Surge in 2009 Car Sales Raises Hopes for 2010

Washington DC January 4, 2010; The AIADA newsletter reported that a December 2009 recovery in car sales is starting to ease fears that the historic plunge in the U.S. auto market in 2009 would repeat itself this year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in recent days, sales have been brisk as auto makers stepped up incentive programs and took advantage of customers willing to buy without the aid of government rebates that spiked sales last summer.

"We are seeing an increase across the board," said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Edmunds.com, a car-buying Web site. She cited higher-than-expected gains at BMW AG, Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus, and General Motor Co.'s soon-to-be-shuttered Saturn and Pontiac brands.

Auto makers are set to release December sales data on Tuesday. Many industry analysts now expect the seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate in December to be more than 11 million cars and trucks.

Such a figure would mark the second-best month of 2009 after August, which received a major jolt from the "Cash for Clunkers" government rebate program. According to an analysis of the car industry last week by Credit Suisse, a bright spot is that good products can still break through.