ALEXANDRIA, Va. -

Though Honda and Toyota are still facing supply issues, as well as the new challenges from the recent flooding in Thailand, several import brands posted double-digit sales gains in October as international automakers, overall, climbed almost 7 percent, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association.

Specifically, import brands moved 554,369 new vehicles last month for a 6.8 percent year-over-year gain, pushing their year-to-date total to 5.58 million sales, a 6.2-percent increase.

Their Big 3 counterparts saw sales climb 8.3 percent for October with year-to-date sales up 14.8 percent, which AIADA attributed to bolstered truck and SUV sales.

“Throughout 2011, dealers have seen a pattern of slow but stable growth in sales,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “More than anything, the steady pace of our recovery shows us that the auto industry is on solid footing.”

Breaking it down by brand, Korean brands showed some strength, as Kia climbed 20.8 percent year-over-year and Hyundai jumped 22.8 percent.

Europeans were fairly strong as well, as brands like Volkswagen (up 39.6 percent), Mercedes-Benz (up 26.5 percent) Audi (up 25.8 percent) and others thrived.

Speaking on the reasons for the strength for Europeans, Kelley Blue Book analyst Alec Gutierrez told Auto Remarketing that the exact reasons will depend on the brand, but he emphasized that overall "there are a lot of really attractive lease deals right now" for European brands that have resonated with customers.

"Beyond that, on Volkswagen specifically, they’ve benefitted from a few refreshed and redesigned models," he said of the German brand that showed the strongest uptick among the bigger import automakers. Gutierrez cited the Passat, new Beetle and Jetta as examples of revamped models from VW.

As for the Japanese brands, Honda (down 0.7 percent) and Toyota (down 6.8 percent) were hampered by the ongoing supply challenges and the recent Thai floods.

“They are confident, however, that production levels are returning to normal, and expect the fourth quarter to be strong,” AIADA officials noted.

In fact, Gutierrez pointed out that even with production back on track, it will take some time for these cars and vehicle components from Japan to hit U.S. shores. In other words, improvements can’t be overnight. 

Unfortunately, though, the flooding in Thailand could mean some challenges. Speaking specifically about Honda, Gutierrez said he saw that it may reduce Honda’s production by 40 percent to 50 percent. 

Looking at the Nissan brand — which wasn’t as heavily impacted by the earthquake as its peers — it was one of the double-digit gainers in October, moving its sales up 22.1 percent.

Moving along, during October, the top 10 selling models in the U.S. were split evenly between imports and domestics, with the Ford F-Series at No. 1 and the Chevrolet Silverado at No. 2. The first import models to make the list — the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry/Solara and Nissan Altima — finished Nos. 3 through 5, respectively.

Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, said Wednesday that stronger year-to-date new-vehicles sales have led to a few new brands and models coming in close to the front of the pack.

Overall, the Camry is still the top-selling car through 10 months, while the F-Series is the top truck, according to NADA. The Altima comes in at No. 2 year-to-date for cars, and the Ford Fusion is in third.

The Silverado places second for trucks, and the Ford Escape is No. 3.

“As we close in on NADA’s estimated 12.7 million units of sales for 2011, brand share will continue to shift because of production disruptions in Japan and Thailand, hot-selling new models and rising incentives,” stated Taylor.

In what is likely good news for dealers, Taylor indicated that the only thing that would stop overall U.S. sales from capping 2011 on a high note would be if the current European financial challenges suddenly got worse. Right now, the market is on pace to hit 12.6 million sales.

AIADA provided the following charts to illustrate its data: