Lured to showrooms by Detroit’s smartest cars and cheapest loans in years, consumers drove December sales at their strongest pace in five years, analysts said.
Year-end deals and pent-up demand, even amid a wobbly economy, helped fuel car sales of about 11.5 million last year, analysts predicted, up from sales of 10.4 million in 2009. The estimates yesterday came ahead of today’s announced sales results.
If the estimates hold, it will mark Detroit’s first annual sales increase since 2005.
“Consumers have found a new buying behavior in uncertain times,” said auto analyst Jesse Toprak of TrueCar.com. “They’re saying, ‘I’m not going to get a crystal-clear picture of what’s going to happen to my job or the economy — but I need a new car, now.’ ”
General Motors and Ford each posted annual gains, knocking Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, into third place in the US. Chrysler, soon to be controlled by Fiat, also showed renewed strength. Toyota, reeling from a year of recalls and bad publicity, was down 10 percent in the month and the only major carmaker in the US to post a sales drop in 2010.
US manufacturers also launched an offense in the past few months with their strongest ad spending in more than two years.
Also climbing from the robust outlook was Sirius XM Radio, the most heavily traded stock on the Nasdaq. It rose 3.8 percent to $1.69, on the expectation that rising car sales will swell subscriber ranks.
GM, aided by sales of its sporty Camaro, expects a 4.3 percent jump in December sales. Since GM went public in November after its government-led restructuring, shares are up 12 percent, rising 20 cents yesterday to $37.06.
Ford, boosted by sales of its redesigned Explorer, outsold Toyota in the US to capture its No. 2 spot, according to estimates, which had Ford selling 1.74 million vehicles, about 155,000 more than Toyota.
Chrysler Group LLC sales jumped 9.3 percent in December, analysts projected, aided by demand for its Jeep Grand Cherokee. Honda expects a 7.2 percent gain in US sales for December, and Nissan predicts a 20 percent jump. tharp@nypost.com
