Chrysler’s U.S. sales rise 44 percent in Jan.

DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler‘s U.S. sales in January jumped 44 percent over a year ago, starting off what is expected to be a strong year for auto sales.

The company said its Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands combined to give the company its best January tally in four years.

The increase is a sign that U.S. car sales started 2012 on a strong note, continuing their brisk pace from late last year.

Chrysler is the first automaker to report sales on Wednesday. Industry analysts expect a strong year in the wake of the recession because the average age of a vehicle has reached a record 10.8 years in the U.S. Buyers who needed to replace aging vehicles took advantage of low interest rates and greater loan availability in January.

Analysts expect that new-car and -truck sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13.5 million vehicles last month. That follows an annual rate of 13.56 million in December and 13.63 million in November.

At Chrysler Group, total sales for the month rose to 101,149 from 70,118 a year ago. The Chrysler brand led the way with an 81 percent increase, and the company attributed much of its gain to sales of sedans.

ChryslerGroup LLC said it sold 7,007 Chrysler 200 midsize sedans last month, more than eight times the number it sold in January 2010, a poor month for the company. In addition, the Chrysler 300 large sedan saw sales rise almost quadruple over a year earlier.

Hyundai and Kia are also expected to report big increases. General Motors, which had a strong January aided by great deals last year, will see sales drop, according to the TrueCar.com auto pricing website.

Not all trends are encouraging for industry sales. Consumer confidence fell in January after two straight months of big gains as Americans worried about incomes, gas prices and business conditions. Unemployment is at its lowest level in nearly three years, but it’s still 8.5 percent.

“Overall, the economy’s not in a good place yet, but I think consumers are reacting to the conditions much more favorably than expected,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, an industry consulting company in Troy, Mich.

As credit loosens up, dealers are reporting more young buyers and more buyers with lower credit scores, Mr. Schuster said.

Wes Lutz, owner of a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership in Jackson, Mich., said January sales were good, but not nearly as strong as December sales. People in showrooms generally are more optimistic than they were early last year.

“The customers have more down payments. The credit market is loosening up some,” he said.

U.S. auto sales rose 10 percent to 12.8 million in 2011. That was up 23 percent from 2009, when the U.S. auto industry and the financial system were in peril.

In January, there were signs of good deals from Japanese automakers. They want to stop people from defecting to U.S. and Korean carmakers, which are challenging their traditional area of strength, small and midsize cars.

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