Americans found plenty of reasons to drive home new cars in September, and that demand made auto sales one of the economy's bright spots for yet another month.
Buyers needed to replace aging cars, banks offered cheap loans, and auto companies rolled out a new lineup of fuel-efficient midsize sedans. Underneath all that, buyers felt more confident about the jobs market, a key factor influencing car sales.
After all car companies finish reporting Tuesday, total U.S. sales are expected to rise to more than 1.1 million vehicles, up 11 percent from September of 2011. Most analysts expect an annual rate around 14.5 million.
Auto sales have been a bright spot in a cloudy economy all year, maintaining an annual pace of at least 14 million most months. On Tuesday, Chrysler's U.S. sales chief, Reid Bigland, said that September sales for the industry could reach an annualized rate of nearly 15 million, making it the best month since March of 2008.
"We remain optimistic about the health of the U.S. new vehicle sales industry and our position in it," Bigland said.
Chrysler reported its best September since 2007. A midsize sedan led Chrysler's September sales. Sales of Dodge Avenger jumped 89 percent from a year earlier. The Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV also notched a strong month with sales up 19 percent. But the company's best-selling vehicle, the Ram pickup, posted only a 6 percent increase following a strong August.
One thing that will be absent from September sales is big discounts from automakers. The average incentive for the month was $2,468, down almost 7 percent from September of last year, according to the TrueCar.com auto pricing site.
Even with uncertainty, there's enough good economic news to help sales, which could reach an annual rate of 15 million this month, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas.
Consumer confidence, one of the biggest factors influencing car-buying, jumped in September to the highest level since February. It was bolstered by a brighter outlook for overall business conditions and hiring.
Checks with dealers found higher floor traffic in mid-month "driven by aggressive lending and marketing activity, particularly for trucks," Jonas wrote in a note to investors.
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