SANTA MONICA, Calif. — This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to close at 850,000 units, a 27.6 percent decrease from November 2007 and a 1.9 percent increase from October 2008, according to Edmunds.com.

The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) for the month is expected to be 11.5 million. November 2008 and November 2007 both included 25 selling days.

"Sales improved slightly over October thanks to near-record high incentives and perhaps a sense of relief that the presidential election is over," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "Also, remarkably low gas prices motivated shoppers to seriously consider the tremendous deals available on SUVs and trucks."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 47.1 percent in November 2008, down from 51.1 percent in November 2007 and up slightly from 47.0 percent in October 2008.

"Now the domestic automakers are scrambling to develop a viability proposal in order to earn a government loan," said Michelle Krebs, senior editor of Edmunds' AutoObserver.com. "It is more important than ever for them to demonstrate that their products are appealing to the American public."

Edmunds.com provided the following end-of-month predictions for the six leading manufacturers:

• Chrysler will sell 94,000 units in November 2008, down 41.7 percent compared to November 2007 and down 0.3 percent from October 2008. This would result in a new car market share of 11.0 percent for Chrysler in November 2008, down from 13.7 percent in November 2007 and down from 11.3 percent in October 2008.

• Ford will sell 119,000 units in November 2008, down 33.1 percent compared to November 2007 and down 7.8 percent from October 2008. This would result in a new car market share of 14.0 percent of new car sales in November 2008 for Ford, down from 15.1 percent in November 2007 and down from 15.5 percent in October 2008.

• GM will sell 188,000 units in November 2008, down 28.2 percent compared to November 2007 and up 11.2 percent from October 2008. GM's market share is expected to be 22.1 percent of new vehicle sales in November 2008, down slightly from 22.3 percent in November 2007 and up from 20.3 percent in October 2008.

• Honda will sell 88,000 units in November 2008, down 20.6 percent from November 2007 and up 3.0 percent from October 2008. Honda's market share is expected to be 10.4 percent in November 2008, up from 9.5 percent in November 2007 and up from 10.3 percent in October 2008.

• Nissan will sell 57,000 units in November 2008, down 29.3 percent from November 2007 and up 0.2 percent from October 2008. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.7 percent in November 2008, down from 6.9 percent in November 2007 and down from 6.8 percent in October 2008.

• Toyota will sell 150,000 units in November 2008, down 24.2 percent from November 2007 and down 1.7 percent from October 2008. Toyota's market share is expected to be 17.6 percent in November 2008, up from 16.8 percent in November 2007 and down from 18.2 percent in October 2008.