Ford Sales Rise 4.4% in November

Ford Motor Co. said Thursday its U.S. vehicle sales rose 4.4% in November, helped by its new Focus car and discounts on its full-size pickup trucks.

Ford, the world’s second-largest auto maker, sold 309,460 North American-built vehicles, ahead of the average analyst forecast of a 2.3% gain. Total sales, including Jaguar and Volvo cars and heavy trucks, rose 8.3% to 324,133.

Ford’s car sales rose 29%, while truck sales slipped 2.4% under pressure from pickups sold by rivals. Ford this month added a $500 rebate on its 2000-model, F-Series pickup to counter gains by its rivals.

General Motors Corp. on Thursday announced its first discounted loans on redesigned Silverado and Sierra pickups, a day after reporting flat sales for November.

Industrywide sales rose 7.3% in November to 1.28 million vehicles, Autodata said.