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New vehicle sales rise 14 percent to best January in nine years

 
2015 GMC Yukon SLT
2015 GMC Yukon SLT
Published Feb. 4, 2015

DETROIT — With low interest rates and cheaper gasoline to motivate them, consumers went car shopping in a big way in January.

New vehicle sales rose 14 percent to 1.15 million over January 2014, according to Autodata Corp., the best January in nine years. Car buyers found a few deals, but they were also attracted to popular new vehicles such as the Ford F-150 and Jeep Cherokee.

General Motors led the way with an 18 percent gain over January 2014. Encouraged by low gas prices, buyers snapped up GM's big SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.

Toyota's sales rose 16 percent, and the Japanese automaker reported record January sales of its trucks and SUVs. Ford and Nissan each posted 15 percent gains. All automakers except Tesla Motors reported sales results on Tuesday.

The average transaction price for light vehicles was $32,812, up 3.5 percent, according to TrueCar, a car price and shopping information company.

Trucks, vans and SUVs were expected to account for 55 percent of sales to individual buyers in January, the highest percentage since 2004, according to the forecasting firm LMC Automotive. Sales of the behemoth Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator more than doubled.

Analysts expect U.S. sales to increase this year but at a slower pace than in recent years as sales approach the record of 17.3 million set in 2000. Sales rose 6 percent to 16.5 million in 2014; they're expected to rise just 3 percent this year.

Available credit, low interest rates, stable home values and low gas prices are all boosting sales for now, says Karl Brauer, a senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book.

"If those factors remain in place, new vehicle sales will continue to rise, though a big shift in one or more could quickly slow things down," Brauer says.

At GM, sales of the nine-passenger Chevrolet Suburban SUV more than doubled to 4,130, while Chevrolet Silverado pickup sales were up 25 percent. GM's sales totaled 202,786 for the month.

Ford saw a 17 percent gain for F-Series pickup trucks as the new aluminum-bodied F-150 hit dealer lots. Ford Explorer SUV sales were up 28 percent, helping Ford achieve total sales of 171,732.

At Toyota, Prius hybrid sales were flat, the victim of low gas prices. But Toyota saw a 19 percent gain in truck and SUV sales. Toyota sold 169,194 vehicles in January.

Among other automakers:

• Fiat Chrysler sold 145,007 vehicles, up 14 percent from January 2014.

• Nissan's sales were up 15 percent to 104,107.

• Honda sold 102,184 vehicles, up 11.5 percent.

• Hyundai's sales rose 1 percent to 44,505.

• Volkswagen's sales were flat at 23,504.