Ford Motor Company (F), Chrysler Group LLC, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NSANY) US Sales Up 11% in July

A combination of low interest rates, an improving economy, rising consumer confidence and increasing home values in many areas is driving sales. In addition, automakers have been rolling out appealing new products in every segment from subcompact cars to big pickup trucks.

Sales of pickup trucks are especially strong, which helps the Detroit automakers. Sales of compact and subcompact cars as well as compact crossover SUVs are expected to also show healthy gains, Gutierrez said. Total pickup truck sales could rise as much as 30 percent in July, he said. Edmunds.com says last month may have been the strongest July in seven years.

Incentives are helping sales. Incentives such as rebates and low-interest loans in July rose nearly 8 percent over a year ago to $2,684 per vehicle. That’s the highest level of the year, said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for the TrueCar.com auto pricing site.

Overall, though, the discounts haven’t cut prices. The average sale price of a vehicle last month held steady at just over $31,000, Toprak said. That’s because buyers are loading up on options, which boosts the price, he said. To get lower monthly payments with a higher price, buyers are stretching out their loans and leasing more vehicles, according to LMC.

Thirty percent of car loans now are six years or longer, up from 29 percent in the first half of last year. Leasing, which generally lowers monthly payments, accounts for 24 percent of auto sales, up from 21 percent a year ago, LMC said.

The article Ford, Chrysler, Nissan US Sales Up 11% in July originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Associated Press.

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