The New Year is upon us and all signs point to a stronger 2012 in regards to auto sales. Forecasts call for growth on a global scale with luxury vehicles leading the way and that means profits for GM, Nissan and the rest of the global players. Keep an eye out for Bullz-Eye.com’s 20 Cars to watch out for in 2012 and let’s hope the sales momentum from last year takes us to a better place in 2012!

From the Detroit Free Press:

Global auto sales will grow 6.7% this year with growth projected in all major markets but Europe, according to automotive consulting firm R.L. Polk.

Worldwide new vehicles sales are forecast to reach 77.7 million this year, with China accounting for the largest portion of the increase. New vehicle sales are expected to reach 17.9 million this year in the world’s largest auto market, up 16% from 2011, according to Polk.

The U.S. market is poised to expand to 13.7 million this year, up from about 12.8 million in 2011, with the luxury market as the fastest growing segment, increasing by more than 14%.

That bodes well for Ford and General Motors, which are working to restore their Lincoln and Cadillac brands to former glory. Both will unveil important new cars next week at the North American International Auto Show in at Cobo Center.

Read the full article.

Apparently, if people were not rioting over two dollar waffle irons at Wal-Mart, they were buying cars on our nation’s most treasured holiday, Black Friday. The result of the strong sales last weekend caused November of this year to post sales at a 13.4% seasonally adjusted rate, 2% higher than the same period in 2010. In fact, this is the highest seasonal rate increase since “Cash for Clunkers” was operating in 2009. There are more factors contributing to November’s sales success than just Black Friday though.

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I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials for the Chevy Volt, and this advertising blitz might be paying off. The Chevy Volt outsold the Nissan Leaf for the first time in October. In October GM sold 1,108 units of the Volt, which is a significant increase over the 723 units sold in September.

The Volt is still running behind GM’s sales targets, and it seems like the company was banking on all the PR buzz around the vehicle to drive sales. Perhaps a marketing push was also needed. The commercials are pretty good. They stress the gas savings of an electric car with some humorous situations at gas stations.

As more and more automakers go electric and introduce plug-in hybrids, it will be interesting to see if this segment really takes off. Right now the sales numbers are miniscule but that could change quickly.

Auto sales are set to jump in the coming years but will high gas prices put a strain on the auto recovery?

From CNN.com:

FORTUNE — It has been a dismal three-plus years for U.S. auto sales.

After a halcyon stretch early in the 2000s, when annual sales of cars and light trucks topped 16 million for nine straight years — and even poked above 17 million at times — they have been sharply depressed.

Sales tumbled to 13.2 million in 2008 and then fell all the way to 10.4 million in 2009, helping to send General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy.

Since then, sales have improved slightly, recovering to 11.6 million last year — but still well below long-term trends.

Now, in a surprisingly upbeat forecast, economist George Magliano of HIS Global Insight sees better times ahead — much better, in fact.

Read the full article.