"We are expecting a strong December as the industry continues to recover from the East Coast hurricane," Chrysler US sales chief Reid Bigland said in a statement. Several analysts expect US sales of new cars and trucks to rise 11 percent to 13 percent in November, with the annual selling rate for the month finishing in the range of 14.7 million to 15.3 million vehicles.
Chrysler, majority owned by Fiat, said sales rose 14 percent to 122,565 cars and trucks, its strongest result since 2007 before a recession pushed the US automaker and General Motors Co into bankruptcy. Hyundai said sales increased 8 percent to 53,487 vehicles, an all-time high for the month. It was the first sales results since the South Korean automaker and its Kia affiliate overstated the fuel economy ratings by at least a mile per gallon on more than 1 million recently sold vehicles.