U.S. 2010 Automobile Sales Rise 11%

U.S. automobile sales rose last year for the first time since the recession, increasing 11% from a year earlier.

New car and light truck sales totaled 11.6 million for the year, rebounding from a 27-year low in 2009, according to Autodata Corp. figures, Bloomberg reported.

Sales also rose 11% in December, totaling 1.14 million units. General Motors Co.’s deliveries rose 7.5% from a year earlier. Ford Motor Co.’s sales rose 3.5% and Chrysler Group LLC’s rose 16% for the month.

Including medium- and heavy-duty trucks, sales this year could total 13.5 million units, GM and Ford executives said in Jan. 5 conference calls, Bloomberg reported.

GM and Ford predicted industrywide sales will total 12.5 million to 13 million this year, though analysts said it could take years to get back to the peak sales of 17.4 million units reached in 2005. Sales bottomed out at 10.6 million in 2009.

Toyota Motor Corp. was the only major automaker that sold fewer cars and trucks last year than in 2009, due to sudden-acceleration recalls in early 2010.