Research firm AutoData said that US sales hit an all-time high of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. The firm also said that December sales came in much stronger than expected, at a pace of 18.4 million vehicles. That figure is well above estimates for about 17.7 million.

Shares of General Motors Co (GM.N) rose 5.5 percent and Ford Motor Co (F.N) stock rose 4.6 percent, far outpacing the wider Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up only 0.3 percent.

For 2016 sales, Ford reported its best year in a decade while Nissan and Honda said they sold a record number of cars in the US. Toyota and GM bucked the trend, with their total sales in 2016 down from the year earlier.

Light trucks and sport utility vehicles were up 8.3 percent compared to the year-ago period while passenger cars were down 4.7 percent.

The positive increase in auto sales is mainly attributed to strong consumer confidence coupled with low fuel prices. In December, US consumer confidence reached levels not seen in 15 years. Auto sales are an early indicator of consumer spending.

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Instead, the automaker giant said it would build electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles in its Michigan plant. President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said the decision to cancel the Mexico plant was purely because of the sagging demand for small cars and not because of Trump being elected as the president.

He told Fox Business that the automaker would have made the same decision even if Trump had not been elected. “There was no quid pro quo because there was no negotiation” with Trump over the decision to cancel the plant, Fields said.

During his electoral campaign, Trump had been critical of Mexico and had said he would build a wall on the border. He had also repeatedly said during the campaign that if elected he would not allow Ford to open the new plant in Mexico, which he called an ‘absolute disgrace’.

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