US car sales top 15-year-old record, approach 17.5 million vehicles
Detroit - Cheap petrol and low interest rates powered record car sales in 2015 in the United States, according to sales data issued by carmakers.
The sector had 2015 sales of at least 17.42 million cars and light trucks, topping the 2000 record of 17.4 million, car industry publication Automotive News reported Tuesday.
A few smaller makes, including Porsche, are yet to be reported.
Bloomberg News reported slightly different numbers. It said that industry-wide sales last year reached 17.5 million vehicles, an increase of 5.7 per cent from 2014. The sixth consecutive year of rising car sales - after the industry meltdown during the 2007-09 US recession - is the longest run of growth in 70 years. There were some signs of slowing momentum, though, as rebates and other discount schemes increased later in the year.
Petrol prices were down nearly 10 per cent at the pump in December from a year earlier, according to the AAA motor club.
US consumer interest rates remain at historically low levels, also favouring sales, though the US Federal Reserve began tightening monetary policy in December after holding its benchmark inter-bank rate at an unprecedented near-zero range for seven years.
For 2015, General Motors, the largest US carmaker, sold 3.1 million vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands, up 5per cent, the company said.
- DPA
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