Nissan says November U.S sales up 6 pct, market "tough"

DETROIT (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) said on Monday its U.S. sales rose 6.1 percent in November from a year earlier despite signs that industry-wide sales had faltered because of weaker consumer confidence.

Sales for Nissan-brand vehicles rose 6.8 percent, while sales for the automaker's luxury Infiniti unit were up 2.1 percent from a year earlier, Nissan's Senior Vice President for U.S. Sales Mark McNabb told Reuters.

"It was a tough market," McNabb said. "It was tougher than I anticipated."

McNabb said that, while full industry-wide data was not yet available for November, it appeared sales had remained under pressure in regions such as California and Florida where housing markets have been in retreat.

"I think everybody's feeling it," he said. "Certainly housing would play a part there."

Nissan's sales gain for November was more limited than the double-digit rise some analysts had forecast. The Japanese car maker's November results were compared against a depressed year-earlier result when its sales dropped almost 2 percent.

Nissan said it sold 70,079 Nissan brand vehicles in the month in the United States. Sales for its Infiniti brand rose to 10,604 vehicles.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Maureen Bavdek and Andre Grenon)