Sales at Orange County auto dealers rose in November.
Sales were up nearly 18% from a year earlier to 9,288 autos, according to the Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
The figure is based on registrations with the state, a barometer of sales.
Nearly all of auto brands saw higher sales in November.
Still, last month’s auto sales were below the 12,994 autos that dealers here sold in November of 2006, when the market was much stronger.
South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia, which have their U.S. bases in Orange County, continue to boost sales and market share in OC.
Hyundai was up 47% to 605 autos sold. Kia was up 190% to 290 autos.
Luxury car sales were mixed.
Mercedes-Benz was up 20% to 801 autos for November. Lexus was down 31% to 347 autos. BMW was down 7% to 438 autos.
Porsche was up 33% to 64 cars. Jaguar sales were down 15% to 17 autos.
Toyota continued its upward climb. The Japanese automaker was up 7% to 1,826 autos sold in November.
Key rival Honda was also up. Honda boosted sales 27% to 1,048 autos.
Among the domestic brands, Ford’s sales rose 43% to 838 autos. General Motors’ GMC brand was down 3% to 106 autos.
