Truck Sales Rise as Gas Prices Fall

American automakers sighed — just slightly — yesterday when just-released October sales figures showed truck and SUV sales shot up 14.8% last month compared to October of last year. This is a reversal of recent trends downward in the truck market, as buyers were scared off by high gas prices. The numbers were also impacted by last year’s mediocre October sales overall, meaning the companies probably would have improved regardless of low gas prices.

Chrysler’s Dodge and Jeep brands aided parent company DaimlerChrysler’s truck-sale boost of 11.1%, while GM saw a rise of a whopping 32.9%. Over at Ford, cars actually won out in October, up 22% compared to Ford trucks’ minimal 0.7% rise.

What does all this mean? Trucks aren’t dead yet, and new entries from Chevrolet, GMC and Toyota in the next few months should boost sales even higher. That is, as long as gas prices stay reasonable.

[Lower Gas Prices Spur Rebound in Truck Sales, The Detroit Free Press]