GM, Ford sales in US soar in November

NEW YORK: General Motors on Wednesday reported US car sales for November jumped 11.4 per cent from a year ago in a month marked by GM's historic return to Wall Street as it sheds government ownership.

Ford also reported US sales rose 24.3 per cent in November from the same period in 2009, with 147,338 vehicles sold.

"Ford's broad range of high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles is driving one of our best years ever and positioning Ford to deliver improved results in the future," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of sales and marketing.

GM, the largest US automaker said sales of its four brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac -- totaled 168,704 vehicles in November, up 11.4 per cent from November 2009.

"Each brand came to the party in November," said Don Johnson, US sales operations vice president.

"These results show that our brands continue to gain momentum with consumers who want stylish, fuel-efficient vehicles," he said in a statement.

GM returned to public trading on November 18, marking a dramatic turnaround for the embattled company.

The Detroit, Michigan-based automaker was forced into bankruptcy protection in June 2009 amid massive debts and a 50-billion-dollar government bailout.

The IPO, which raised more than 23.7 billion dollars, lowered the government stake in the company below 50 per cent and recouped 11.7 billion dollars for US taxpayers.

GM shares were up 1.2 per cent following the monthly US sales report.