Auto Sales See a Boost In May

Auto sales in the U.S. increased for yet another month in May, as consumers drove more vehicles off lots and rental-car and government fleets increased orders during the month.

Consumers ignored the 8 percent drop in the U.S. stock market in May, as the automakers are continuing to see improvement in the unstable economic recovery.

The big-three in Detroit each saw double-digit growth over the same month last year, when General Motors Co. was entering bankruptcy and Chrysler Group LLC was already under protection. Along with several foreign automakers, May will become seventh consecutive month of overall gains for the industry.

The long Memorial Day weekend, which was a strong point of sales for the industry in the U.S., greatly benefitted the results.

Chrysler surged ahead of 100,000 units sold in a month during May for the first time in more than two years with a 33 percent jump in sales. The company was led by strong sales of its Jeep Wrangler, pickup trucks and minivans.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was also strong in May with an overall sales jump of 22 percent, while its sales to rental companies and the government rose 32 percent. However sales at the company’s Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo brands were all down.

Rumors surrounding Mercury being phased out were confirmed by the company’s board on Wednesday.

Sales at GM increased 17 percent, but sales at it four remaining core brands, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, rose 32 percent. The company that is stabilizing itself in hopes of an initial public offering in the future saw strong demand for some of its new models such as the Chevy Camaro and Buick LaCrosse.

Fleet sales at GM spiked to 38 percent of overall sales, which is bad news for the company’s resale values and brand image, but it said that it expects to see fleet sales reduced to 25 percent by the end of the year.

Beleaguered Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) saw sales rise at a far slower rate than the rest of the competition, with a 6.7 percent rise. The company has relied on incentives to get consumers into the showroom after massive recalls tarnish the company’s image earlier this year.

Other companies reporting sales on Wednesday included Nissan with a 25 percent jump, Subaru up 35 percent and Kia Motor seeing sales rise 21 percent.

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