May saw sales increases for Chrysler, GM and Mercedes-Benz, while Ford sales stayed consistent with the year-ago period. Due to parts and production shortages in Japan, import brands Honda, Nissan North America and Toyota Motor Sales all saw decreases compared with May 2010 sales.
Ford: Ford’s total sales for May were equal to the year-ago period at 192,102, while retail sales saw an increase of 5 percent. The F-Series truck, though down 15 percent compared to May 2010, took the top spot as the best-selling vehicle in the country for the month. Other top-selling Ford models for May were part of the brand’s new fuel-efficient vehicle and powertrain lineup
Toyota: Toyota Motor Sales sold 108,387 units for the month of May, a decrease of 27.9 percent. Toyota Division sales were down 26 percent and Lexus Division sales down 40 percent compared to the year-ago period. Scion sales increased 23.7 percent, while TMS Hybrids decreased 49.2 percent.
GM: Including fleet sales, General Motors sold a 221,192 vehicles in May, a 1.2 percent decrease from May 2010. Retail sales, however, were up 9 percent increase from the year-ago period. Passenger car and crossover retail sales increased 32 percent and 17 percent, respectively. The Chevrolet Cruze had its best retail sales month since launching, while the GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox had a combined retail sales increase of 58 percent.
Honda: Honda experienced a 16.1 decrease in sales in May compared to last May, with the car company reporting that it sold 90,773 units. Company officials attributed the sales drop parts and production shortages related to the March 11 earthquake in Japan. The company did report increases for the Odyssey minivan (5.5 percent) and Fit model (46.3 percent).
Nissan: May sales for Nissan North America came in at 76,148 units, a 9.1 percent decrease from the 83,764 vehicles sold in May 2010. Nissan vehicle sales decreased 7.8 percent while Infiniti sales decreased 21 percent vs. last year.
Chrysler: Chrysler Group delivered 115,363 vehicles in May, a 10 percent increase compared with the year-ago period. This was the best sales for Chrysler since 2008. The top selling models included the 2011 Chrysler 200, 2011 Dodge Durango SUV, 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the 2012 Fiat 500.
Mercedes-Benz: Sales at Mercedes-Benz increased 1.8 percent from last May, with sales totally 18,886 units. This was the highest May sales figure in the company’s history. Top sellers for the month included the C-Class, E-Class, GLK-Class, and the M-Class.
