http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120601/AUTO01/206010393/GM-sales-up-10-9-May-Ford-up-13-Chrysler-up-30-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
GM sales up 10.9% in May; Ford up 13%; Chrysler up 30% The Chrysler 300 saw its best May sales in five years as sales jumped 140 percent. Zoom The Chrysler 300 saw its best May sales in five years as sales jumped 140 percent. (Getty Images) Detroit's Big Three posted double-digit gains in vehicles sales in May, with Chrysler Group LLC leading the way with a 30 percent jump in year-over-year sales for the month. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. showed it was back in the game, reporting its sales were up 72.9 percent on a daily selling rate basis and 87.3 percent on an unadjusted raw volume basis. The Japanese automaker sold 202,793 units in May. Among the domestic automakers, Chrysler marked its best May sales month since 2007. The Auburn Hills-based automaker said it had sales of 150,041 vehicles in May, up from 115,363 vehicle sales in May 2011. The company's Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and Fiat brands all had sales jumps for the month, with Fiat setting a sales record for the fourth-consecutive month. "In spite of a tremendous amount of global economic uncertainty, the U.S. new vehicle sales industry continues to power ahead," Reid Bigland, president and CEO for the Dodge brand and head of U.S. sales, said in a statement. "Our May sales increased 30 percent and represented our 26th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth. We are also in the process of adding production capacity as quickly as possible to meet strong demand for our products." The Chrysler brand sales soared 81 percent, its best May outing in four years, with Chrysler 200 sales jumping 87 percent to set a new May record, while the Chrysler 300 saw its best May sales in five years as sales jumped 140 percent. Sales for the Jeep brand were up 24 percent, its best performance in May since 2000, with Jeep Wrangler sales up 44 percent, setting an all-time record for any month, the company said. Dodge brand sales increased 14 percent, with the Dodge Challenger setting all-time monthly sales record, while the Ram Truck brand saw sales jump 23 percent for the month compared with May 2011. Ford Motor Co. said its U.S. sales were up 13 percent in May, with car sales up 6 percent, SUVs up 12 percent and truck sales jumping 21 percent. The company also said it plans to build 690,000 vehicles during the third quarter, up 5 percent or 34,000 vehicles from the same quarter in 2011. The Dearborn automaker said it sold 216,267 vehicles in the month, fueled by sales of the F-series pickup jumping 29 percent over last May. Ford brand sales were 901,446, up 6.8 percent over last year's 843, 710. The Lincoln brand dropped from 34, 642 vehicles sold in 2011 to 34, 418 in 2012. "Ford posted solid gains across our fresh lineup of new cars, utilities and trucks in May," Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, said in a statement. "Fuel efficiency continues to be a top purchaser driver, and Ford's wide range of fuel-efficient products delivered again." Ford said its E-Series van sales jumped 31 percent, its best May since 2008, while the Ford Transit Connect also had its best month ever. The popular Fusion also had its best May ever, Ford said. General Motors Co. said its May sales of 245,256 vehicles were up 10.9 percent, its highest total since August 2009. The Detroit automaker's Chevrolet brand sales jumped 10 percent, while Buick saw sales jump 19.2 percent and GMC 19.3 percent. Cadillac bucked the trend with a 15.1 percent decline. GM said sales of small and compact cars were up 16 percent, with strong sales coming from the Chevy Sonic and Buick Verano. Crossover sales across all brands increased 14 percent from a year ago, and full-size pickup sales climbed 23 percent, mid-sized pickup sales rose 34 percent and SUV sales were up 14 percent. "GM's sales in May were the highest in almost three years, and we are poised to keep delivering good news for the U.S. economy with one of the most aggressive new product offenses in our history," Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales operations, said in a statement. "About 70 percent of our nameplates will be new or freshened over the course of 2012 and 2013 and that positions us very well as the industry and GM start to approach pre-recession sales levels." GM said its retail sales jumped 14 percent from the same month a year ago, while its fleet sales also were up 3 percent. Nissan North America's U.S. sales of 91,794 were up 20.5 percent in May. The Nissan division saw its sales jump 16.4 percent, while Infiniti sales surged 65.8 percent. Volkswagen of America, Inc. reported 38,657 units sold in May, a 28.4 percent increase over last year sales, 35.7 percent increase year-to-date and the best May since 1973. Volkswagen Group of America Jonathan Browning said the month started out strongly, softened in the middle, then picked up strongly during the Memorial Day weekend. Diesels accounted for 21 percent of its vehicle sales. Despite lower gas prices, he said the underlying trends favor fuel-efficient vehicles. Despite some disappointing economic data, Browning says he believes that the economic recovery is on track. "Our underlying feeling is that we're seeing a solid recovery, not spectacular." Asked about Friday's weak jobs data, he said that during any recovery you get numbers pointing upward and sideways as well as down. Other automakers are expected to release May sales figures later Friday. Analysts are expecting a strong May for the U.S. auto industry fueled by continued pent-up demand and lower gas prices that could have pushed truck buyers back into showrooms. TrueCar.com estimated May sales would be up 32 percent from a year ago, with predictions most major manufacturers would post double-digit growth for the month compared with the same month a year ago. Barclays Capital predicts U.S. vehicle sales to hit 1.4 million for May, up from 1.06 million in May 2011. Christine Tierney contributed. [email protected] (313) 222-2319 >From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120601/AUTO01/206010393#ixzz1wYe5uY1L _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
