A day after reporting a surprising 12 percent decline in sales for May, General Motors Corp. said on June 4 it was increasing cash rebates on pickups and sport utility vehicles to match those from Ford Motor Co., according to a Reuters report.

Trucks are key to profits for Detroit's Big Three, and GM has credited strong truck sales for growing its earnings this year. But GM's full-size pickup sales dropped 23 percent in May, while sales of Ford's F-Series pickups fell 1.3 percent and sales of Chrysler's Dodge Ram pickups increased 19 percent.

GM announced it was raising the rebates on mid-size SUVs by $750 to $1,750. Rebates on most

four-door, full-size pickups were raised to $1,500 from $1,000, while rebates on other full-size pickups were raised from $2,000 to $2,500.

The increases bring GM's rebates in line with Ford's, although Ford offers to combine rebates with cheap interest rates on loans. The Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler AG is offering a rebate of $1,500 on most Ram pickups, along

with larger rebates on its midsize SUVs, and an extended warranty on its engines and transmissions.

GM spokesman Jeff Roegner said the automaker was

raising its incentives "in response to how competitive things are out in the market today." GM had not been scheduled to revise its incentives before the end of June, according to Reuters.