As NAFCU economists expected, the pace of vehicle sales picked up in November as consumers in the Northeast sought replacements for vehicles damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Vehicle sales in November increased from 14.3 million units to 15.5 million units, annualized, according to AutoData Corp. Car sales increased from 7.4 million units to 8 million units, annualized; light truck sales picked up from 6.8 million units to 7.5 million units, annualized. On a year-over-year basis, overall vehicle sales were up 14.7 percent in November.

NAFCU Research Associate Doug Christman said the November sales gain also reflected sales that were delayed due to Hurricane Sandy. “The positive numbers are also a reflection of a slowly recovering economy, increased access to credit and the release of pent-up demand,” he said.

All six of the largest automakers reported increases in their year-over-year sales numbers. Honda reported the strongest gain with 38.9 percent, followed by Toyota (17.2 percent), Chrysler (14.4 percent), Nissan (12.9 percent), Ford (6.4 percent) and General Motors (3.4 percent). The U.S. brand share of the total vehicle market fell from 44.5 percent in October to 42.2 percent in November.

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