The Chevrolet Cruze, which won the Urban Car of the Year Award, continues to gain momentum.

DETROIT – Chevrolet earned the top-selling spot among auto brands in the U.S. in January as they  marketed their way to a total of 125,389 vehicles sold. That figure represents a 33 percent increase in retail sales, due to strong customer demand across the brand’s lineup.

“We are encouraged to see Chevrolet’s momentum in 2010 carryover to the new year,” said Alan Batey, vice president, Chevrolet Sales and Service. “Because of our great products, more customers chose Chevrolet in January than any other brand in the United States. In fact, Chevrolet edged out Ford by almost 4,000 vehicles and outsold Toyota by more than 25,500.”

Chevrolet’s crossover retail sales increased 36 percent over January of last year. The Equinox recorded it’s fifth consecutive month of year-over-year retail sales gains with a 46 percent gain in January for the compact crossover.

Chevrolet truck retail sales increased 32 percent over last January. Customers bought 35 percent more Silverados than a year ago, while combined retail sales of Suburban, Tahoe, and Avalanche increased 26 percent.

The launch of the all-new Cruze compact continued to gain momentum as retail sales of Chevrolet cars increased 33 percent over January 2010. Customers bought 12,014 Cruze sedans this month – a 129 percent increase over the compact car it replaced.