In 2012, the automobile industry in the United States enjoyed its best year since 2007, with sales up by 13.4 percent over 2011.
Total sales across the industry reached 14.5 million, with General Motors taking top spot with 2.5 million cars and light trucks sold in the year, although its market share fell from 19.6 percent to 17.9 percent with other manufacturers growing more quickly than GM’s modest 3.7 percent.
Ford came out of the year as the second biggest seller, but also lost market share with single digit growth. Volkswagen achieved the biggest growth, with sales up 35 percent over 2011.
Japanese car firms improved market share after recovering from supply chain disruption due to the earthquake and tsunami. Toyota sales rose 27 percent while Honda increased by 24 percent. Toyota’s sales reached nearly 2.1 million and its market share rose 1.5 percent to 14.4 percent.
Analysts expect the automobile industry to continue growing in 2013, with expectations varying between 15 and 16 million vehicle sales.
