This text was not translated, because it is originally in English
Although monthly sales in January were up by 17 percent compared to a year ago they were still considerably lower than before the recession hit. Nonetheless the auto industry was largely pleased that the return to showrooms by buyers, seen in the latter part of last year, continued.

Among the highlights GM reported a 23 percent increase in sales, Fords improvement was a more modest 13 percent while Chrysler reported a 24 percent increase. Among the major Asian companies Kia did best with a 26 percent increase in sales. BMW was the most improved among the major European companies with a 21 percent increase in sales.

Chrysler (brand), Lexus, Lincoln and Mazda were the only brands that reported a decline in sales, compared to January 2010. Lexus decline was a surprise as all the other luxury car makes have seen a strong revival in sales recently. Indeed Lexus maintained its sales lead ahead of Mercedes-Benz and BMW last year. However, in January Lexus was not only soundly beaten by its two European rivals, but Cadillac nearly sold as many vehicles thanks to an incredible 49 percent increase in sales.

Cadillacs best selling vehicle in January was the 2011 Cadillac CTS (pictured) that overtook the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus ES and Infiniti G-Class to finish second in the entry-level luxury segment behind the BMW 3-series.

As always, the Ford F-Series pickup was the overall top selling vehicle in January. It saw a 30 percent increase in sales, which put it even further ahead of the Chevrolet Silverado in second place. The Toyota Corolla took third place, with a 20 percent increase in sales, beating out the Toyota Camry, which was the best selling car last year.