by Calculated Risk on 5/01/2012 08:37:00 AM

From Retuers: Chrysler April US Sales Jump 20 Percent

Chrysler Group's U.S. new-vehicle sales rose 20 percent last month, marking the best April performance in four years
...
The U.S. automaker said it expects the April annual selling rate for the industry to finish at 14.6 million vehicles. That would be stronger than the 14.4 million 41 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast and would also top the March rate of 14.4 million.

The key number for the economy is the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) compared to the last few months, not the year-over-year comparison provided by the automakers. Once all the reports are released, I'll post a graph of the estimated total April light vehicle sales (SAAR) - usually around 4 PM ET.

The consensus is for an increase to 14.4 million SAAR, from 14.3 million in March.

I'll add the reports from the other major auto companies as updates to this post.