September was another good month for U.S. auto sales, with most automakers .
Analysts said car and truck sales were on track to rise 12% over last September, hitting a 14.4 million annual sales rate, the Los Angeles Times noted.
General Motors (NYSE:) said September sales improved nearly 2% over last year, rising to 210,245 vehicles. That marked GM’s best September since 2008. While consumers purchased more sedans, fewer fleet customers translated into a 20% drop in truck sales.
Chrysler, owned by Italy’s Fiat (PINK:), saw sales jump 12% over last year. The third-largest U.S. carmaker, which the federal government rescued from collapse, sold 142,041 vehicles during the month, its highest September sales in five years.
Toyota (NYSE:), which continues to recover from last year’s production disruptions relating to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, posted a 41.5% jump in September sales compared to last year. The Japanese auto giant said it sold 171,910 vehicles in the U.S. last month.
Volkswagen (PINK:) continued to produce strong results last month. The German automaker sold 36,339 vehicles in the U.S. in September. That marked a 34.4% rise over last year and its best September in 40 years.
Not all automakers saw sales increases, however.
Ford (NYSE:) reported sales of 174,976 vehicles last month, down 200 vehicles from last year. And Nissan (PINK:) said its September sales dipped 1.1% compared to last year, falling to 91,907 vehicles.
