U.S. February auto sales soared to a 15-year high for the month, carmakers reported on Tuesday, in the latest sign of continued consumer confidence. Auto sales last month rose about 7%, helped by low gasoline prices, available and low-interest credit and higher wages. WardsAuto said February sales on an annualized basis was 17.43 million vehicles, down from 17.45 million in January but up from 16.32 million last February. Overall, WardsAuto said February sales of 1.34 million was 6.7% higher than a year ago. Autodata Corp also counted 1.34 million in sales but said the increase from a year ago was 6.9% and the annualized sales rate for February was 17.54 million. Despite gloomy talk about the economy on the U.S. presidential campaign trail, auto sales and other data released on Tuesday indicated the economy was regaining momentum. Analysts have expressed concerns about a cyclical fall-off in vehicle sales after sustained gains since the 2008-2009 deep recession, but there were few signs of slowdown. Ford Motor Co's (F) sales rose 20% as its SUV and crossover vehicles soared 28% from last February. F-Series pickup trucks, a leader in U.S. sales for more than three decades, gained 10%. Ford stock was up 4.4% at $13.06. Some 36% of Ford's sales were into fleets, which include sales to businesses, government, and rental agencies, up from 30% a year ago. No. 1 General Motors Co (GM) reported that sales fell 1.5%. They would have been higher, GM said, if it did not cut shipments to rental companies by 16,500, or 39%, from a year earlier. GM shares were up 1.9% at $29.99. Toyota Motor Corp (TM), No. 3 in the U.S. market, said sales rose 5% in the month. Its U.S.-traded shares, or ADRs, were up 2.2% to $106.42. A negative sign was a drop in sales for German luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz of Daimler AG, down 0.3% and BMW, down 11%. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) U.S. auto sales rose 12% on strength in its Jeep SUV and Ram trucks. Shares were up 7.3% at $7.15. Sales at Honda Motor Co (HMC) jumped 13%. Nissan Motor Co sales were up 10.5%. But Volkswagen AG sales, including its VW, Audi and Porsche brands, fell 7%. VW brand sales fell 13%. Audi rose 2%. Last year, U.S. auto sales hit a record 17.4 million vehicles. BMW has surprisingly bad results. I thought about buying the stock, but now will put this idea on hold.