CHICAGO: US automotive sales jumped 13.4 percent in 2012 to their best performance since the crash of 2008 as better economic times, hot new models and the need to replace aging vehicles drew consumers to showrooms.

It was the biggest yearly gain since 1984.

Toyota, Honda and Chrysler outpaced their rivals with sales gains that blew past 20 percent while Ford and General Motors (GM) posted modest growth, leading to their market share to shrink significantly.

Total industry sales came in at 14.5 million vehicles, up from 12.8 million in 2011 and a low of 10.6 million in 2009, according to Autodata and Ward’s Auto. Before the 2008 crash, US auto sales had not dipped below 15 million since the recession of 1993.

Toyota and Honda saw sales climb sharply as they recovered from the devastating Japanese tsunami, which smashed their supplies in 2011, and lured customers with new and updated offerings. Toyota reported a 27-percent gain in 2012 sales to nearly 2.1 million vehicles as December sales rose 9 percent to 194,143 vehicles. Its market share rose 1.5 points to 14.4 percent in 2012, placing the Japanese giant solidly in third place.

“As we move into 2013 and the market sees continued growth, we expect to outperform the industry once again with another nine product launches on the horizon,” said Jim Lentz, chief of Toyota Motor Sales USA.

Honda sales jumped 24 percent to more than 1.4 million vehicles in 2012—its fourth-best year ever—as December sales rose 26 percent to 132,774. Its market share grew by just under a point to 9.8 percent, according to Autodata.

Chrysler—which has posted nearly three years of consecutive sales gains—saw its sales jump 21 percent to nearly 1.7 million vehicles in 2012 while its share climbed half a point to 11.1 percent.

Ford forecast that 2013 sales would rise to between 15 million and 16 million vehicles in the US while global sales will come in between 80 million and 85 million.

“Overall, we expect global sales to grow this year, supported by an ongoing recovery in the US, as well as improving sales in China,” said Ford economist Ellen Hughes-Cromwick. “Gains in these markets are offset somewhat by the weakness in the European markets.”

Ford reported its best December sales since 2006, though they grew just 2 percent from the same month a year earlier to 214,222 vehicles. The number two US carmaker’s 2012 sales rose 5 percent from 2011 to nearly 2.3 million vehicles on the strength of the Ford brand, which was the only nameplate to top two million in annual US sales. However, its market share fell nearly a point to 15.5 percent. GM forecast more modest growth of 15 million to 15.5 million in the coming year.

“GM’s strong finish in 2012, the industry’s momentum and the overall health of the US economy make us optimistic about 2013,” GM sales chief Kurt McNeil said.

GM’s sales grew 4 percent in 2012 to 2.6 million vehicles after it posted its best December in five years with deliveries up 5 percent year over year to 245,733. The sluggish growth pushed GM’s share of the US market to the lowest level in decades—just 17.9 percent compared with 19.6 in 2011. GM sold one in every four cars in the US as recently as 2005 and one in every three cars in 1993.