Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Nissan Motor Co., one of the biggest gainers of U.S. market share last year, exceeded analyst estimates for December sales. The company saw its best year of auto deliveries in the U.S., where consumers bought more cars and light trucks than in any year since 1996.

U.S. dealers for the second-biggest Japanese automaker sold 117,318 Nissan and Infiniti models last month for a 6.9 percent gain that topped the average estimate for a 6 percent rise. Full-year sales rose 11 percent to 1.39 million, led by a 12 percent increase in deliveries for the namesake brand.

“Nissan had its all-time best year on the strength of our core vehicles -- Altima, Sentra, Versa and Rogue, as well as Nissan Leaf, which had the best-ever year for any plug-in vehicle in the industry,” said Fred Diaz, Nissan’s senior vice president for U.S. sales, marketing and operations. “We expect low gas prices and high consumer confidence to be the magic formula that continues to bring more buyers into dealer showrooms.”

All automakers were projected to report sales increases in December as the strengthening job market, available credit and the lowest gasoline prices in more than five years bolstered consumer confidence. Deliveries are projected to rise again this year for an unprecedented sixth straight year, albeit at a slowing pace, as volumes return to pre-recession levels.