DETROIT: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles February US auto sales rose 12 percent as the carmaker again showed strong Jeep SUV and Ram truck sales.

Sales for Jeep’s six SUV models rose 23 percent, the company said, matching the gain for Ram pickup trucks. Fiat Chrysler posted its best February sales in a decade and its 71st consecutive year-over-year monthly gain.

Major automakers are expected by economists and industry analysts to post a sales rise of 7 percent to 9 percent from a year ago.

Forty-eight economists polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected annualized February US sales to be 17.63 million vehicles. Last year, US auto sales hit a record 17.4 million vehicles.

Many industry analysts have said they eventually expect a tapering of the auto recovery, which has been ongoing since the 2008-2009 recession. The first two months of 2016 have not shown many signs of a fall-off. January US auto sales on an annualized basis were 17.46 million, according to WardsAuto data.