A General Motors Co Chevrolet Traverse sits on the lot at Marty Feldman Chevrolet in Michigan, US. General Motors Co posted a 7.5% rise in December US auto sales and said it expects the industry to report sales at a 13mn-vehicle annualised rate for last month—far higher than many forecasts and what would be the highest rate of 2010. GM said sales rose 16% in its four remaining US brands in December from a year earlier, led by percentage gains in Buick and GMC. Retail sales to consumers jumped in the month and it reduced sales to rental car companies. GM said results were led by a 42% jump in sales of its crossovers in December from a year earlier. The automaker also sold 29% more full-sized pickup trucks, most of those 2011 model-year vehicles that command higher prices. A year after its 2009 bankruptcy, and less than two months after its largest-ever IPO, GM remains the top-selling automaker in the US. GM’s US sales rose 6.3% to 2.2mn in 2010 from the prior year
