US automakers said Wednesday that sales of pickup trucks rose sharply in April because of a revival in the housing market and increased demand from the oil and gas industry.
The increase in truck sales fueled double-digit sales growth at all three Detroit automakers and kept the industry on track to sell more than 15 million vehicles this year.
Auto analysts said the overall industry sold about 1.3 million new vehicles during April, a 10 percent improvement over the same month a year ago. It was the best April performance since 2007 and another indication that sales of new cars and trucks in the United States were returning to prerecession levels.
“As long as automakers keep reporting their best sales in at least five years, we’ll continue to be in good shape,’’ said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with the website Edmunds.com.
Auto executives said pickup sales grew three times as much as the overall market during the month and were a direct result of improved housing starts and strong demand for trucks by the energy sector.