Ford sold more vans in January than any other January since 2001 on the strength of its new 2015 Transit full-size van and redesigned Transit Connect compact van, Ford announced.
Low gasoline prices and pent-up consumer demand should propel new car and light truck sales to an estimated 16.94 million in 2015, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Vehicle manufacturers should sell 16.5 million light-duty vehicles in retail and fleet channels in 2014, which represents a 6 percent increase from 2013 amid the backdrop of an improving U.S. economy, according to Edmunds.com.
Nearly half of all the battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles registered in the U.S. in 2013 came in California, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
New registrations in Western Europe climbed by almost 6 percent, the U.S. auto market grew by more than 9 percent, and passenger car sales in China rose by 8 percent, according to a report by the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA).
Sales of diesel passenger cars increased 25 percent during the first six months of 2014, while sales of gasoline cars grew 4.2 percent and hybrid growth turned negative, according to new data.
Sales of pickups and vans helped boost General Motors' June fleet sales, which increased 2 percent compared to a year ago.
Global automotive growth was seen in the passenger car markets in Western Europe (+6 percent) and Japan (+19 percent), while, in China, demand for passenger cars recorded a double-digit increase (+22 percent).
In January, the European, Chinese, and Japanese auto markets posted substantial gains. In contrast, the auto markets in the U.S., Russia, and India saw their market sales contract.
Chrysler's Ram ProMaster full-size van saw strong demand since its introduction in October, the automaker reported in its year-end sales.