November was good for auto sales.

General Motors Co., which co-owns the DMAX engine plant in Moraine, said its sales rose 21 percent to 168,704 vehicles when compared with November 2009. Sales were up for all its brands, the company said.

Ford Motor Co. said its monthly sales jumped 24 percent in November compared to last year, with 147,338 vehicles sold. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales reached 1.74 million, up 21 percent year to date.

And Chrysler Group LLC reported U.S. sales of of 74,152 vehicles, 17 percent more than last November.

Nissan, Hyundai and Honda also reported double-digit increases, and only Toyota, which has been hurt by a string of safety recalls, had a sales drop. Overall, according to Autodata Corp., U.S. sales last month rose 17 percent from November 2009, a month marked by consumer paralysis due to high unemployment.

The November performance helped an industry that is trying to recover from last year’s historic lows as credit froze up and two major automakers slid through bankruptcy court. Sales started the year with promise, peaked in May as consumer confidence rose, fell off during the summer and now have started to rebound.

Dave Arbogast, owner of Dave Arbogast GMC Buick Vans RVs in Troy, said his sales have been strong all season.

“We had actually a very good November,” Arbogast said. “There’s probably a lot of pent-up demand, because people put off the purchases,” Arbogast said.

Used sales have been extremely strong, too, he added.

J.D. Power & Associates, a marketing research firm, puts the seasonally adjusted annual rate at above the 12 million vehicles.

Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting for J.D. Power, said the stronger sales are largely not incentive-driven.

“Credit availability is better than it was,” he said. He also believes leasing has been strong.