DETROIT — American shoppers passed on the malls and headed to the car dealerships over Thanksgiving weekend.
Black Friday promotions — coupled with falling gas prices, low-interest loans and hot new vehicles — drove U.S. auto sales higher in November, kicking off what's expected to be a strong holiday season.
Subaru and Chrysler led the major automakers with sales increases around 20 percent on strong demand for their small SUVs. It was Subaru's best November ever and Chrysler's best November in 13 years.
General Motors, Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen also reported gains. Sales fell at Ford, Hyundai and Nissan.
Car-buying website Kelley Blue Book estimated that 25 to 30 percent of November's new vehicle sales happened over the holiday weekend thanks to a flurry of Black Friday promotions. Because the holiday came late in the month, buyers also benefited from dealers' usual month-end sales push.
New vehicle sales rose 5 percent to 1.3 million, according to Autodata Corp. It was the second-fastest monthly sales pace this year, after August.
Sales are on track to end the year at around 16.5 million, up 6 percent from 2013, said Jesse Toprak, a senior analyst with Cars.com.
The sales were fueled by incentives, like zero-percent financing on new Chevrolets and a $3,500 credit on a new BMW. Low gas prices accelerated a trend toward SUVs. The U.S. average gas price fell 23 cents in November to a four-year low, according to AAA. Sales of the new Nissan Rogue small SUV jumped 44 percent, while the Jeep Cherokee was up 67 percent. The Honda CR-V had its best November ever, with sales up 38 percent to more than 32,000. Even big SUVs saw gains: Sales of the eight-passenger Lincoln Navigator jumped 88 percent.
Cars struggled to get noticed. Ford Fusion sales dropped 11 percent, while Nissan Altima sales were down 7 percent. For the most part, only new cars like Volkswagen's Golf subcompact and Chrysler's 200 midsize sedan saw sales increases.
The industry expects more of the same in December, which is always a big month for luxury sales. Trucks and SUVs normally get a seasonal boost in the winter, Toprak said, but this year low gas prices will amplify the increase.
"It will probably be the best December in many, many years," Toprak said.