BANDON, Ore. — New-vehicle sales surpassed expectations, with floor traffic hitting nearly 11 percent in the final 10 days of July, according to CNW Research.

Based on the market research firm’s data from the first 20 days of July, floor traffic looked to be on track for a 4 percent increase over the previous year. The firm also had predicted new-vehicle deliveries to rise 7 percent vs. one year ago.

“The final 10 days of July were a wild ride, indeed,” wrote Art Spinella on behalf of his firm.

Closing ratios, which had a 3.3 percent gain at mid-month ballooned to 7.4 percent in the final days of July. Same-store sales similarly increased — up 3.1 percent in the first half of the month, they swelled to nearly 10 percent.

Additionally, leasing was running at a 28 percent rate in the first 20 days of the month before jumping to nearly 35 percent in the final 11 days of July.

“All in all, incentive spending, including subsidized leases, low-interest loans and quicker approval of subprime contracts put the industry on the launch pad and ignited the rocket that led to a double digit sales increase nearly twice what was in store as of July 15,” Spinella concluded.