Industry analysts have predicted a 4.5 per cent year-on-year rise in new US car and truck sales during January.

On the back of a strengthening economy, low interest rates and the introduction of new sales incentives, analysts polled by Reuters forecast sales figures of 16.9 million vehicles in January, up from 16.1 million last January.

'Everything we're hearing from Detroit leads us to believe that we're going to have a pretty strong year and a pretty strong month,' Peter Glassman, a senior economist with Bank One Corp, told the news agency.

Ahead of the release of official figures later this week, industry experts explained that the sales increase could be even higher than the 4.5 per cent suggested once the annual figure is adjusted for an extra day's trading this year compared to last.

Analysts also warned that sales usually slow in January compared to December, when automakers offer added incentives over the festive season.

Last year was no exception as 17.9 million units were shifted - the strongest monthly figure of 2003.

Analyst David Healy of Burnham Securities also explained that some companies such as Ford were reducing subsidies and incentives on cars to boost profits.

'Ford has apparently made a strategic decision to sacrifice market share for the sake of profitability,' he said.

When the sales figures are published, foreign car makers are also expected to have increased their share of the US market.