Light-vehicle deliveries in November, to be released tomorrow, may have run at a 13.4 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, the average of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That would top the 12.3 million pace of a year earlier and October’s 13.3 million rate, which was the best month since sales were helped by “cash for clunkers” in August 2009.
Consumers spent a record $52.4 billion during the holiday weekend, excluding autos, according to the National Retail Federation. General Motors Co. (GM) put a Santa Claus look-a-like in its “Chevy’s Giving More” ads, while Honda Motor Co. wished buyers “Happy Honda Days” with zero due at lease signing, enticing buyers who have deferred auto purchases.
“The automakers are sending the consumer buying signals right now,” Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for researcher Edmunds.com, said yesterday in a conference call. “The year-end sales, Thanksgiving sales, Black Friday sales, holiday sales, whatever it is, there’s some sort of sale out there. It makes sense for consumers that if now is the time to buy something, from jewelry, to a flat-screen TV, it must also be a good time to get a deal on a car, too.”
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