A dismal 2009 for US auto sales was rounded off with a slight improvement in activity during December, according to one industry forecaster.

Edmunds.com revealed that the annualised rate for the month climbed to 11.2 million units, which was significantly higher than the 9.1 million nadir reached in early 2009.

However, analysts believe the full-year sales total only reached 10.2 million when adjusting for population, representing the worst annual decline since World War II.

"Everything is improving, but the recovery is really slow. It's not even growth, really - it's more like stabilisation," commented Jessica Caldwell, Senior Analyst at Edmunds.com.

A tumultuous year for the US saw General Motors and Chrysler file for bankruptcy, while the country was also overtaken by China as the world's largest auto market.

Nevertheless, the other member of the Detroit-based 'Big Three', Ford, recorded a hugely encouraging 33 per cent sales increase over the course of December.

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, an economist at Ford, revealed that the company expects global vehicle sales to increase to about 75 million this year from 64 million in 2009.

"There is a pitter-patter of data turning positive," she told Reuters.

Chrysler (down by four per cent on a month-to-month basis) and Nissan (up by 18 per cent) both outperformed analysts' expectations, while GM suffered a six per cent decline.

In total, 1.03 million vehicles were sold in the country during the month, which was a 15 per cent improvement on the figure recorded for November.

Meanwhile, in China, sales of passenger cars, trucks and buses surged by 92 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 1.4 million units.

Japanese manufacturers such as Nissan, Honda and Toyota - which posted a 32 per cent US sales increase for December - have all been capitalising on the impressive demand and are now looking to increase production capacity.

"The Chinese and US markets are driving Japanese carmakers' production gains," Masatoshi Nishimoto, a Tokyo-based analyst at auto consulting company CSM Worldwide, told Bloomberg.

"China's long-term growth potential is prompting them to make aggressive capital investments."

The continuing rise in Chinese sales has been boosted by new tax breaks implemented by the government which offer discounts for purchases of cars with engines of 1.6 litres or less.

Rural consumers are also being given money off buying new vehicles if they trade in their older, larger and less fuel-efficient models as part of the deal.

In Japan, a similarly encouraging month was witnessed, as sales of cars, trucks and buses (excluding minicars) jumped by 37 per cent to 250,474 units, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers' Association.

The figure, which represents the fifth straight monthly improvement after a year of declines, was also boosted by government rebates and tax cuts for buying cleaner vehicles.

Toyota and Honda, the country's two largest automakers, posted domestic sales increases of 52 per cent and 97 per cent respectively, with Nissan recording a rise of 16 per cent.

Elsewhere, European car sales increased by 16 per cent in December on a year-on-year basis, despite full-year volumes falling by 1.6 per cent, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The UK witnessed a sharp recovery of 39 per cent during the month - largely due to the government's scrappage scheme - although 2009 sales were down by 6.4 per cent.

A total of 150,936 cars were sold in December, representing the sixth straight monthly rise and the best performance in the final month of the year since 2005.

"Another tough year awaits the UK motor industry in 2010, with new car registrations expected to be below 2009 levels and only limited recovery in the van and heavy commercial vehicle markets," said Paul Everitt, Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

In Germany, new car sales declined by five per cent in December, with the figure being compromised by the conclusion of the country's 'cash for clunkers' initiative.

Although this was the first annual monthly fall since February, auto federation the VDA also noted that full-year registrations improved by 23 per cent.

France enjoyed a particularly strong month, with sales surging by 48.6 per cent to 228,451 vehicles, taking the overall increase in 2009 to 10.7 per cent.

Carmakers' association CCFA suggested that the large volume of activity in December was connected to the government deciding to scale back its scrappage scheme at the end of the year.

"Thanks to an order book that is still very strong, we expect the first quarter, indeed the first two quarters, [to] follow the same trends as the end of 2009," Bernard Cambier, Renault's Senior Vice President for France, said in an interview with BFM Radio.

Other major European markets such as Spain and Italy enjoyed December sales increases of 25.7 per cent and 16.7 per cent respectively, while Russia witnessed a 38 per cent year-on-year decline.

Moving to India, one of the significant emerging auto markets, most manufacturers reported sales improvements in December as the local economy began to pick up the pace.

Maruti, which is a unit of Suzuki and the country's biggest automaker, posted an increase of 51 per cent, while two-wheeler company Hero Honda saw sales leap by 74 per cent.

GM India also revealed that its new car registrations almost doubled to their highest level since 1996, with the firm predicting that industry-wide double-digit growth will be witnessed in the current financial year.

Meanwhile, another emerging auto industry market, Brazil, saw December sales increase by 16.5 per cent from November and 51.1 per cent from the equivalent period 12 months earlier.

According to Reuters, 3.01 million units were sold in the South American nation over the course of 2009, which represents the third straight record-breaking year.

Finally, in South Africa, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers confirmed that total vehicle sales slumped by 7.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis during December.

Sources:

Ford surges as U.S. auto sales end '09 on uptick (05/01/10)

U.S. auto sales grew in December; Ford surged while Chrysler, GM slipped (06/01/10)

Toyota, Nissan Boost Global Output on China Sales, U.S. Rebound (25/01/10)

Toyota, Honda Lead Increase in Japan's December Vehicle Sales (05/01/10)

European car sales up in December (15/01/10)

U.K.: New car sales up 38.9 pct in December (07/01/10)

German new car sales up 23 percent in 2009: auto federation (05/01/10)

Dec Car sales update: Wrapup: Car sales surge at year-end thanks to incentives (04/01/10)

Russian car sales seen flat in 2010 after slump (14/01/10)

December U.S. Auto Sales Show 'Slow Slog' as Ford Gains Ground (31/12/09)

Italy 2009 New Car Sales Down 0.17% - Ministry (04/01/10)

Strong Sales for India's Vehicle Makers (01/01/10)

Brazil '09 auto sales post record year-source (04/01/10)

December vehicle sales drop expected (08/01/10)

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