Cars.Com Expects December Unit Sales To Be Highest Since 2006

Cars.com projected that December light, new-vehicle sales will hit 1,510,500 units, marking an 11.3 percent improvement from the same month a year ago. This would mark the highest December unit sales count since December 2006.

Cars.com is projecting a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 16.86 million for the month of December.

"New car sales are finishing the year on a high note, with total industry sales expected to exceed 16.5 million units in 2014," said Jesse Toprak, chief analyst at Cars.com. "Bolstered by low gas prices, SUV and full-size truck sales have been particularly strong this month – even beyond normal seasonality."

Toprak is projecting strong auto sales to continue in to 2015 with an estimated 17.1 million units sold during the year.