DETROIT (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co.'s US sales rose 25 percent in January and Nissan Motor Co. posted a 16 percent increase as a Toyota Motor Corp. recall put some of its most- popular models off-limits.

Ford's deliveries jumped to 116,534 from 93,506 a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates, while Nissan said yesterday its total climbed to 62,572 from 53,884. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford was among companies adding incentives for Toyota owners following the Japanese automaker's sales freeze.

The gains by Ford and Nissan may lead the US market to its first three-month streak of higher sales since 2006. The recession dragged deliveries in 2009 to their lowest levels since 1982, and industrywide monthly sales have climbed only six times in the past three years.

"It's a good sign for the economy to see some growth in sales," said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at AutoPacific Inc. in Troy, Michigan. "We expect to see month-over-month improvement all year, the Toyota problem notwithstanding."

Ford's US sales improved over the weekend from earlier in January, buoyed by $1,000 rebate offers to owners of Toyota vehicles, Jim Farley, the automaker's global marketing chief, said yesterday in an interview.

"The uncertainty from one of our major competitors may have helped bring customers out," Farley said. "People felt like, 'Hey, it seems like there are deals out there'."

Industrywide deliveries may have run at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.5 million cars and light trucks, based on the average estimate of eight analysts. The January 2009 pace was 9.6 million. A rate matching the estimates would still mean a U.S. market less than two-thirds of its size from 2000 through 2007, when annual deliveries averaged 16.8 million.

Manufacturers, dealers and investors use the rate to compare monthly totals by taking into account seasonal buying patterns.

Toyota's deliveries may have fallen 4.6 percent, dragging its share of US deliveries to the lowest since March 2006, researcher Edmunds.com estimated.

General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC may join Ford in announcing sales gains yesterday, according to estimates from five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. GM probably will say sales rose 16 percent, while Chrysler will post a 3.3 percent advance, based on the estimates.