Chrysler sales jumped 40% in US last month

Paul Sakuma / AP

Sales of the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan more than quadrupled from a year earlier, while sales of its 300 full-size sedans rose more than five times.

By Msnbc.com staff and wire

UPDATED 10:45 a.m. ET: The auto industry's sales gains just keep rolling on.

Chrysler,? Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen all reported strong U.S. sales in February, kicking off what is expected to be another strong month for automakers.

General Motors says its U.S. sales rose 1 percent last month, led by its small cars.

Chrysler said its sales were up 40 percent from a year earlier as it sold nearly 134,000 new cars and trucks and all of its brands showed at least double-digit increases. Volkswagen sales rose 42 percent to nearly 31,000, led by the redesigned Passat midsize sedan. And Nissan sales were up 15.5 percent.

Chrysler was the first automaker to report sales on Thursday. Analysts are forecasting a 3 percent increase for the industry, and all major automakers except General Motors Co. are expected to post higher sales. Smaller cars are expected to lead sales rise because gas prices spiked 30 cents during the month.

But if Chrysler Group LLC is any indication, larger cars and pickup sales will rise, too. Sales of the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan more than quadrupled from a year earlier, while sales of its 300 full-size sedans rose more than five times. Ram pickup sales climbed 21 percent. Chrysler's tiny Fiat 500 had its best sales month ever. The company results were helped by an easy comparison with last February. Sales back then were relatively low because many of its revamped models were just arriving in showrooms.

Even Chrysler's slow-selling minivans, the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, saw sales rise 20 percent or more.

"A few years ago, higher fuel prices were a major threat to our total vehicle sales whereas today, those higher prices have become far less of an issue," said Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales for Chrysler.

CNBC's Phil LeBeau has the numbers that show a strong February for the automaker.

?Ford Motor Co. says its U.S. sales rose 14 percent in February thanks to big demand for its Focus compact car. Focus sales more than doubled over last February to 23,350. It was the best February for the Focus in 12 years.

Ford's U.S. sales chief Ken Czubay said higher gas prices increased demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles in the second half of the month. The Escape, Ford's small SUV, also saw sales rise 4 percent.

But most of Ford's cars saw sales declines, including the Fiesta subcompact and Fusion and Taurus sedans. The newer Focus might have grabbed sales from those cars.

Truck sales were strong thanks to cash-back offers and other incentives. Ford said F-Series pickup sales were up 26 percent.

As for GM, analysts had expected the company to post lower sales compared with last February, when it offered big discounts.

GM says its small cars led the sales increase as gas prices spiked in February. The Chevrolet Sonic subcompact had its best month, with sales of almost 8,000. Chevy Silverado pickup sales rose nearly 2 percent to just over 32,000.

Volkswagen said Passat sales rose from just 56 in February of 2011 to nearly 8,200 last month. Nissan's Nissan brand reported a 17 percent increase, while Infiniti luxury vehicle sales rose 1 percent.

Overall, industry analysts expect all automakers to sell nearly 1.1 million cars and trucks in the U.S. in February. The consulting firm LMC Automotive raised its forecast for annual sales to 14 million from 13.8 million based on strong sales in the first two months of 2012. That's up from 12.8 million last year.

After hitting a 30-year low in 2009, sales have risen the last two years. And the auto industry sees several trends that could lift sales further. The average car on U.S. roads is now a record 10.8 years, so there is an increasing need to replace older vehicles. Credit availability is improving, bringing more people back into the market. Japanese automakers have largely recovered from last year's earthquake and now have more cars to sell. And consumer confidence rose dramatically in February, making people more likely to consider a new car.

Including February, Chrysler has posted nine straight months of year-over-year gains of at least 20 percent.

Gas prices ? which are up 45 cents since Jan. 1 and now average $3.73 per gallon ? are causing a pronounced shift to smaller cars.

Erich Merkle, Ford's top U.S. sales analyst, says small cars made up around 19 percent of industry sales in December. That rose to 21 percent in January and could go as high as 24 percent in February, he said. Sales of the Ford Focus compact car have doubled since last year.

Consumers continued to pay higher prices for cars in February, mainly because they're buying well-equipped small cars, according to the TrueCar.com automotive website.

Vehicles sold for an average of $30,605 last month, up almost 7 percent from a year earlier, TrueCar said.

CNBC's Phil LeBeau has General Motors sales numbers from February.

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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.?

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/01/10548579-chrysler-sales-jumped-40-in-us-last-month

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