Americans headed for local car dealers en masse last month, taking advantage of year-end closeouts, sweet leases and inexpensive financing to boost the industry log its strongest sales year since 2007.
Most major automakers, who report sales on Friday, were expected to report gains for the year. But there were signs in December that 2014 could bring more price competition and better deals for consumers as U.S. auto sales growth starts to slow.
Most analysts are predicting that Americans bought around 1.4 million new cars and trucks last month, the fourth-best month of the year. That means the industry will finish 2013 with sales of about 15.6 million cars and trucks, roughly 8 percent better than the 14.5 million vehicles sold in 2012.
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4-Traders