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Chrysler Group LLC, the automaker majority owned by Fiat SpA, said U.S. sales rose 44 percent last month on demand for Jeep sport-utility vehicles and Ram pickups. Ford Motor Co.’s 7.3 percent gain fell short of estimates, while Nissan Motor Co.’s sales increased 10 percent.

Ford deliveries of light vehicles increased to 136,294 in January from 126,981 a year earlier, the automaker said Wednesday in a statement. Chrysler sold 101,149 cars and light trucks last month, up from 70,118 a year earlier, the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company said in a statement. The average estimate of eight analysts’ surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 32 percent sales gain at Chrysler and a 7.9 percent rise at Ford.

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Light-vehicle sales in January may have run at a 13.4 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The pace probably accelerated from 12.7 million a year earlier while automakers’ spending on incentives stayed steady or slid from a year earlier, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co., RBC Capital Markets LLC and Barclays Capital.

"Some people are starting to feel comfortable enough in the economy that they are willing to buy a car," said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc., an automotive consulting firm in Birmingham, Michigan. "Others are saying, ‘I’ve got to replace this old car because it’s nickel and diming me to death.’"

Nissan’s January sales gain to 79,313 cars and trucks, disclosed in an e-mailed statement, exceeded the 7.6 percent average estimate of six analysts.

Sales of Ford’s Focus compact car rose 60 percent to 14,400 vehicles, while its Fiesta subcompact and Fusion family sedan fell. The Escape small sport-utility vehicle rose 24 percent to 17,259 models, Ford said.

At Chrysler, models such as the 200 sedan, its top-selling car last year, and the Dodge Durango SUV first arrived at dealerships a year ago. Deliveries of the 200 surged to 7,007 in January from 788 a year ago and Durango more than doubled to 3,021 from 1,199. Jeep brand sales climbed 37 percent to 31,710 led by the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler SUVs. Ram sales rose 47 percent to 17,909.

"We’re looking at a completely revamped lineup from Chrysler that’s still kicking in, with a lot of models coming up on their first full year of production," Alec Gutierrez, an analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said in a phone interview before results were disclosed. "A year ago, Chrysler didn’t quite have the product they needed to drive sales."

Chrysler earned $225 million in net income in the fourth quarter, the company said earlier today, exceeding the $186 million average of four analysts’ estimates. Net income may rise to about $1.5 billion in 2012 as global revenue climbs 18 percent to $65 billion, the U.S. company said. It emerged from a government-financed bankruptcy in 2009 under Fiat management.

With the average age of U.S. cars and trucks rising to a record 10.8 years, according to R.L. Polk & Co., analysts see pent-up demand bolstering sales in January and boosting deliveries to a third straight annual gain, the longest streak since U.S. sales peaked in 2000. An improving job market and available credit may drive up full-year sales more than 6 percent to 13.6 million, the average of 18 analysts’ estimates.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. may gain the most, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts last week. Buyers who are loyal to the brands put off purchases last year while the companies dealt with production disruptions caused by the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan and floods late in the year in Thailand.

Auto-sales growth in January may be led by Chrysler and Korea-based affiliates Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. Hyundai and Kia, both based in Seoul, may combine to sell 18 percent more vehicles than a year earlier, the average of four estimates. That would be the two companies’ 17th straight combined monthly combined sales increase from a year earlier.

Ford saw a "significant" shift in demand toward small and mid-size cars in January, Erich Merkle, Ford’s sales analyst, said in an interview before sales results were released.

"You’ll see a sequential drop-off in pickup trucks," Merkle said. "A lot of folks who wanted pickup trucks probably pulled the trigger in December," including commercial fleet customers who made purchases before the expiration of the accelerated depreciation tax benefit that allowed businesses to write off 100 percent of some capital investments last year.

Toyota sales may gain for a third consecutive month, rising 7 percent, while Honda deliveries may drop 1.2 percent, the averages of six analysts’ estimates.

General Motors Co., which regained global sales leadership last year, may sell 7.3 percent fewer cars than a year earlier, the average of eight analysts’ estimates. The Detroit-based automaker may have pulled back on incentives from a year ago, when it outspent the industry average by 42 percent, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata Corp.

Volkswagen AG, which is targeting U.S. sales growth of more than 10 percent this year, may increase combined sales of its Volkswagen and Audi brand vehicles by 27 percent in January from the year-earlier month, the average of three estimates. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker plans to sell more than 500,000 cars in the U.S. this year as part of its goal to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018.