WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — Total light vehicle sales in May, according to AutoData Corp. were up 8.2 percent vs. a year ago, with the industry delivering more than 1.44 million vehicles.

Sales paced at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.31 million units, up from last May’s 13.95 million, according to Autodata Corp. Year-to-date sales increased 7.3 percent to more than 6.42 million units. Big winners for the month were Chrysler, Ford, GM, Kia, Nissan, Porsche and Subaru, all of which reported a record-breaking month.

BMW: Sales for the BMW Group increased 10.1 percent to 31,174 units sold. Year to date, BMW Group sales (BMW and Mini) were up 6.3 percent on sales of 139,142 units in the first five months of 2013.

BMW brand sales increased 13.8 percent in May for a total of 25,230 units sold. The best performing vehicles included the 3 Series (up 47.2 percent), the Z4 Roadster (up 19 percent), the 6 Series (up 26.1 percent) and the X6 SAV (up 18.4 percent).

Mini sold 5,944 vehicles, a 3.4 percent decrease from the same month a year ago. Year-to-date sales were also down 1.1 percent on volume of 25,785 units.

Chrysler: Total sales for Chrysler Group LLC were 166,596 units, the manufacturer’s best May sales since 2007. Compared to a year ago, sales were up 11 percent. Chrysler Group also reached 38 consecutive months of year-over-year sales gains.

Additionally, eight Chrysler Group vehicles set sales record in May, with the Jeep Wrangler (up 13 percent) and Compass (up 42 percent) recording their best monthly sales ever. Ram Truck brand sales were up 24 percent, the largest percentage gain of any Chrysler Group brand in May.

FIAT brand sales reached a new milestone in May, with sales surpassing 100,000 units since its reintroduction in 2011.

Ford: Ford Motor Co. reported its best May sales since 2006, with retail sales up 17 percent. Sales totaled 246,585, a 14 percent sales increase from a year ago. Cars sales were up 9 percent, utilities up 15 percent and trucks up 18 percent.

Both the Escape (29,123 vehicles sold) and Fusion (29,553 unit sold) achieved monthly sales records for four straight months with 26 percent and 10 percent increases, respectively, from a year ago.  The Lincoln MKZ realized an increase of 42 percent vs. a year ago, the models best-ever May sales.

General Motors:  The manufacturer sold 252, 894 vehicles in May, a 3 percent increase form a year ago. It was GM’s highest monthly sales since September 2008.

Chevrolet had its best retail sales month since August 2009, while sales at Cadillac jumped 40 percent from a year ago to 13,808 vehicles sold — the brand’s best May since 2007. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado rose 25 percent to more than 43,000 units sold. General Motors also saw double-digit increase from small cars, including the Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze, as well as the Buick Verano. Sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe were also up 29 percent from a year ago.

Honda: American Honda’s May sales increased 4.5 percent from 2012 to 140,013 units sold (up 4.5 percent based on the Daily Selling Rate). The Honda brand posted May 2013 sales of 125,649 units, a 5.2 percent increase, while the Acura brand sales decreased 1.5 percent to 14,364 units sold.

Honda light trucks posted a May sales record, with the CR-V leading the way with an 8.4 percent sales increase vs. a year ago. Sales of the Pilot and Odyssey were also up 11.3 and 15 percent, respectively. Sales of the Honda Accord were up 11.7 percent, while the Fit posted a double-digit sales gain (20.3 percent). Sales of the Honda Civic totaled 30,268 units in May.

Despite the drop in sales, the Acura RDX set an all-time monthly sales record and its 13 consecutive monthly sales record with 4,930 units sold — a 49.3 percent increase from a year ago.

Hyundai: Sales for Hyundai Motor America in May increased 2 percent from a year ago to 68,358 units sold. It was the company's second-best sales month of all time. Hyundai also set its all-time May sales record with the fastest daily-selling rate ever.

Big winners were the Elantra, with sales increasing 33 percent from a year ago to 25,090 units sold. On a year-to-date basis, Elantra sales were up 30 percent. Sonata sales topped 20,000 units in May while the new Santa Fe exceeded the 7,000-unit mark for a 21 percent sales increase on a year-to-date basis.

Kia: Total Kia sales for May 2013 represented the company’s best-ever May sales with 52,327 units sold. The Optima midsize sedan produced 15,368 deliveries, leading Kia’s sales for the 18^th consecutive month.  The Soul urban passenger vehicle also recorded strong monthly sales of 11,420 units.  

Mazda: Sales for Mazda North American Operations increased 19.2 percent from a year ago to 24,270 units sold in May. Vehicles equipped with Skyactiv Technology accounted for a majority of total sales, with 17,875 units equipped with the technology sold in May.

Mazda3 sales rebounded in May after a down month in April, with sales increasing 5.4 percent. The CX-5 realized its best sales month ever with 7,128 vehicles sold, while the all-new 2014 Mazda6 realized its best May since 2008 with 3,944 units sold.

Mitsubishi: Total overall Mitsubishi sales were down 15 percent vs. last year. Sales of Mitsubishi models currently in production were up 31 percent compared to May 2012, but the discontinued models brought the percentage down. The Outlander Sport accounted for 2,226 units of the total 4,715 units delivered by the manufacturer.

Nissan: Nissan set a new May U.S. sales record with 114,457 units, an increase of 24.7 percent compared to May 2012. The Leaf and Pathfinder realized huge increases of 319.2 and 292.9 percent, respectively, marking the Leaf’s second-best month and the Pathfinder’s best-ever May. Infiniti sales totaled 7,899, down 25.4 percent from last May.

Porsche: Porsche Cars North America announced its best May sales month and second-best month ever with a total of 3,928 units sold. For the year, PCNA has delivered 17,609 vehicles in the U.S. market, up 31 percent over last year's all-time record sales year. The Cayenne was the top-seller with 1,765 sold, a 50 percent increase over 2012.

Subaru: Subaru of America shattered previous monthly sales records by reaching 39,892 units in May, a 34 percent increase from 2012. It was the best sales month in company history. Year-to-date sales for Subaru total 165,362, a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2012.

Driving sales was the all-new 2014 Forester, which realized a 38 percent sales increase vs. May 2012. Outback sales increased 34 percent, while sales of the XV Crosstrek totaled 5,295 units.

Toyota: Toyota sales totaled 207,952 units in May, up 2.5 percent on a daily rate selling basis. The Toyota Division posted May sales of 187.723 units, up 2.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. Lexus reported May sales of 22,229 units, up 3.6 percent from a year ago.

Camry sales totaled 39,216 units, while the new RAV4 achieved its best-ever May sales with 20,780 units sold. The RAV4 posted its best-ever May with 20,780 unit sold (up 8 percent from a year ago), while the Tundra recorded sales of 9,950 units (up 13.5 percent from a year ago). The Scion FR-S led Scion Division with sales of 1,937 units.

Volkswagen: May sales for the German automaker totaled 38,013 units, a 1.7 percent decrease vs. the prior year. The Jetta sedan, the volume leader for Volkswagen, had its best May ever with 14,082 deliveries, up 8.6 percent from last year. The Jetta SportWagen decreased 17.4 percent to 1,828 sales.  

Volvo: May sales for Volvo Cars of North America increased 1.3 percent from May 2012 to 6,329 units. Year-to-date sales were down 5.9 percent over the first five months of 2012.

The S60 sports sedan achieved a new monthly sales record with 2,739 units sold while the XC60 followed with 1,915 units sold.