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General Motors Co, the largest U.S. automaker, reported a 1.5 percent increase in September auto sales on the strength of its passenger car sales, while Ford Motor Co posted sales that were on par with its results from a year earlier.

Strong pickup demand fueled a big jump in U.S. auto sales last month. GM's August U.S. sales rose 10 percent compared with a year earlier, while Ford's rose 13 percent and Chrysler's 14 percent. Most automakers reported strong gains as Americans flowed into dealer showrooms, drawn by model-year closeouts, low-interest financing and appealing new models. Analysts expect overall sales to rise around 20 percent when companies finish reported later Tuesday.

General Motors and Chrysler reported double-digit sales of new vehicles, while Ford’s rose 7 percent. Toyota sales were up 60 percent.

Chrysler sales rose 20 percent last month, its strongest April in four years. General Motors and Ford reported slight dips for the month. Overall, the U.S. auto industry appears strong.

General Motors earned its largest profit ever in 2011, two years after it nearly collapsed. Strong sales in the U.S. and China helped the carmaker turn a profit of $7.6 billion, beating its old record of $6.7 billion in 1997 during the pickup and SUV boom.

After three years of settling for second place, General Motors reclaimed its title as the world’s largest automaker in 2011, a year when its sales grew in every region of the globe while Toyota sales were hampered by major natural disasters.

General Motors Co and Chrysler Group reported September U.S. auto sales gains of at least 20 percent, a sign that consumers have returned as vehicle inventories have risen after being crimped by the March earthquake in Japan.

General Motors says its U.S. sales rose 18 percent in August as fuel-efficient vehicles helped offset economic uncertainty and bad weather. Other automakers may not fare as well.

Automaker's profit surges on rising sales, could be world's biggest carmaker again before the year is out.

General Motors' U.S. sales of cars and truck jumped 27 percent in April as the economy continued to improve and $4 a gallon gasoline pushed buyers into more efficient vehicles.