Honda, Toyota and Nissan have a record November 2007

By JEWEL GOPWANI

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Japanese automakers Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. reported increases in November U.S. sales, pushing all three companies to records for the month.

Honda posted the biggest gain, with sales jumping 4.7% to 111,431 vehicles on strong sales of its two core car models. Sales of the Accord, redesigned for 2008 model year and launched in September, were up 25% in November. Honda Civic sales also climbed 25% for the month.

“Even in these uncertain times, our bread-and-butter products are showing real growth,” Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda, said in a statement.

Car sales at Honda were up 19.3% in November, while truck sales declined nearly 11%. Sales of the Element and Ridgeline fell more than 30% compared with last year.

Toyota Motor reported a slight increase in sales last month. The automaker said it sold 197,189 vehicles, an increase of only 0.3%, , amid low consumer confidence, the crisis in the mortgage market and rising gas prices.

“Considering everything that’s going on in the marketplace, we believe we fared reasonably well this month,” Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division, said in a conference call. The Toyota Division sells vehicles under the Toyota and Scion brands.

“Demand for fresh, more fuel-efficient products continues to show strength,” Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales, said in a statement.

The Camry posted its own November record, with Toyota selling 35,409 of the country’s most popular car, a 3.6% boost from last year. The Prius hybrid also scored a November record with a sales increase of 109% to 16,737 cars. The Prius is easily the top-selling vehicle powered by both an electric motor and a gas-burning engine.

Sales of Toyota’s light trucks and Lexus brand luxury vehicles posted declines. Light truck sales were down 4.4%, for the month despite the Tundra full-size pickup’s 43% increase to nearly 15,000 trucks.

Lexus sales declined 7% for the month.

Nissan Motor said that sales for its North American division were up 6.1 % during November, with the automaker selling 80,683 vehicles, a record for November.

Nissan brand sales were up 6.8%; sales for its Infiniti luxury brand were up 2%. Sales for the Nissan Altima rose nearly 9% to 19,811 vehicles, while sales for the company’s SUVs including the Xterra, Pathfinder and Armada declined.

In November, Nissan saw fewer customers in its showrooms, but those that showed up were ready to buy, said Mark McNabb, senior vice president of sales and market at Nissan North America.

“I think our product matches up to where the growth is,” said McNabb, noting that this year the company launched the Nissan Rogue to compete in the small SUV or crossover segment, which was up 6% in October.

Among other results released today, General Motors Corp. posted an 11% decline, while Ford Motor Co. recorded a 0.4% increase.

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