General Motors US auto sales up 11.4 pct in Nov

General Motors on Wednesday said its US auto sales in November rose 11.4 percent over last year led by a balanced contributions from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars, crossovers and trucks.

The company sold 168,739 vehicles in Novemeber as against 151,427 vehicles during the same period a year ago.

Each brand came to the party in November, said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. sales operations. These results show that our brands continue to gain momentum with consumers who want stylish, fuel-efficient vehicles.

During the month, combined sales of the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX increased 56 percent, while the combined sales for the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse rose 38 percent versus last year. Combined, GM's crossovers improved 39 percent during the month, and are up 51 percent year to date, the company said in a statement.

Combined sales of the Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups increased 16 percent for the month and are 16 percent higher year to date, compared to 2009.

November sales results are consistent with our expectations and show that the plan we laid out earlier this year to steadily grow in the U.S. market is working, Johnson said. Sales for GM's four brands have increased 22 percent through November, while the industry has increased approximately 11 percent.

The auto giant was forced to undergo a government-backed bankruptcy restructuring plan in 2009 and rely on taxpayer funds to stay afloat.

The Detroit, Michigan-based automaker was forced into bankruptcy protection in June 2009 amid massive debts and a 50-billion-dollar government bailout.

The initial public offering of stock, which raised more than 23.7 billion dollars, lowered the government stake in the company below 50 percent and recouped 11.7 billion dollars for US taxpayers.