Chrysler U.S. November auto sales up 20 percent, beating expectations

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Group U.S. auto sales rose 20 percent in November on strong showings by its Jeep brand and Ram pickup trucks, the unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Tuesday.

Jeep SUV sales jumped 27 percent, Ram pickup truck sales were up 21 percent, and Chrysler 200 sedan sales soared 155 percent to 14,317.

A strong showing on Black Friday is seen pushing U.S. auto industry sales in November up 2.3 percent to about 1.27 million vehicles, according to a survey of 11 analysts by Reuters.

Chrysler, which easily beat the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters, was the first major automaker to report November sales on Tuesday.

Eleven Chrysler Group models set sales records for November, the automaker said.

A Thomson Reuters survey of 41 industry economists and analysts showed expectations of 16.7 million vehicles sold on an annualized basis, with a high forecast of 17 million vehicles on an annualized basis.

In October, U.S. sales were 16.46 million vehicles on an annualized basis.

(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)