Mid-November Vehicle Sales Rise 4.8%

Sales of North American-built cars and trucks rose 4.8% in mid-November, auto makers reported Tuesday. But some industry analysts said sales probably were better than the numbers indicated.

“They’re lower than I thought, but I haven’t figured out why yet,” said David Healy, an auto analyst with S. G. Warburg & Co. in New York.

Sales of light trucks rose 14.4% in the Nov. 11-20 period, while sales of passenger cars declined 1.3%.

Sales by the U.S. Big Three and Japanese makers with plants in the United States improved over the same period a year ago. Combined Big Three--General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp.--car and truck sales were up 4.6%; Japanese maker sales were up 6.6%.

Among the Big Three, Ford had the biggest gain in car sales--up 21%--while Chrysler, which does not report its 10-day sales, had an estimated 34.3% gain in truck sales. The trade journal Ward’s Automotive Reports estimates Chrysler’s sales.