October US Auto Sales are up 6.1%

US Auto Sales were up 6.1% from last October, but total sales for the year are still down 2.9%. GM sales were up 17.3%, Ford saw 8.0% gains and Toyota was up 9.2%. Nissan was also up 3.9% from last year. Despite the large increases, companies are still suffering in comparison to last year when sales had taken a steep dive after a summer of heavy discounts.

Lower gas prices have seen a surge in larger vehicles, trucks and SUVs. A drop in hybrid car sales occured as well (I'll be posting more on that later).

Source: autonews (reg required)

	Oct.	Oct.	Pct.
	2006	2005	chng.
BMW*	24,492	25,666	–4.6%
DaimlerChrysler**	180,209	183,191	–1.6%
Ford Motor Co.***	214,591	198,716	8.00%
General Motors****	297,401	253,546	17.30%
American Honda†	110,624	110,895	–0.2%
Hyundai Group††	50,576	50,044	1.10%
Isuzu	638	778	–18.0%
Mazda	18,843	19,504	–3.4%
Mitsubishi	9,288	9,292	–%
Nissan†††	75,095	72,279	3.90%
Porsche	2,355	2,588	–9.0%
Subaru	15,404	16,774	–8.2%
Suzuki	5,950	6,246	–4.7%
Toyota‡	189,011	173,085	9.20%
VW‡‡	22,613	24,168	–6.4%
Other (estimate)	599	530	13.00%
TOTAL	1,217,689	1,147,302	6.10%
Numbers in this table are calculated by Automotive News based on actual monthly sales reported by the manufacturers and may differ from numbers reported elsewhere.
Source: Automotive News Data Center
Note: Other includes estimates for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus
*Includes Mini and Rolls-Royce
**Includes Mercedes-Benz
***Includes Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo
****Includes Saab
†Includes Honda Division and Acura
††Includes Hyundai and Kia
†††Includes Nissan Division and Infiniti
‡Includes Toyota Division and Lexus
‡‡Includes VW, Audi and Bentley