Automakers used early holiday-season deal making to keep U.S. sales on an unprecedented run in November, aided by a strengthened economy and cheap fuel prices that whetted buyers’ appetite for trucks.
Industrywide sales exceeded an 18 million sales rate for a record third straight month, helping enshrine 2015 as one of the best years ever for automakers. Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. beat analysts’ estimates with increases of at least 3.4 percent. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. posted less robust gains yet still made headway in profitable trucks.
