For G.M. and Ford, May Was Best Month for Sales This Year
DETROIT — New-vehicle sales in the United States climbed to their highest levels of the year in May, despite rising gasoline prices and the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler.
May was the best sales month of 2009 for General Motors, whose sales rose 11 percent from April but fell 30 percent from a year ago. Chrysler’s sales rose 3 percent from April but were down 47 percent from May 2008, largely because it sold almost no vehicles to car-rental companies and other businesses.
G.M. filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday, a month after Chrysler.
The Ford Motor Company, the only Detroit automaker that has not entered bankruptcy, said its sales increased 20 percent from April and its market share rose to the highest level in three years. Ford’s sales fell 24 percent from last May, the smallest year-over-year decline reported by any of the six largest automakers since October.
“We were able to record our best monthly sales result of the year in May as we are seeing more positive signs in housing and consumer confidence in the market,” Mark LaNeve, vice president for sales, service and marketing for G.M. North America, said in a statement. “Those signs, along with more clarity on the New G.M., are providing some additional consumer confidence.”
Toyota and Honda each said sales fell 41 percent from last May, which was an excellent month for Toyota and the best ever for Honda. Nissan said its sales fell 33 percent.
Over all, sales fell 34 percent from a year ago and rose 13 percent from April, according to the industry tracking firm MotorIntelligence.com.
May was the eighth consecutive month in which sales fell more than 30 percent, on a year-over-year basis. It was the fifth consecutive month in which total industry sales were below an annualized rate of 10 million vehicles; until 2008, automakers had been selling about 17 million vehicles a year for much of the last decade.
Auto sales in the United States are down 37 percent so far this year, as the recession deters many consumers from buying a new car or truck.
Ford officials described May as encouraging but not necessarily an indication that the market would continue to grow steadily in the months ahead.
“We know there is a significant amount of uncertainty remaining for the economy and consumers,” said Emily Kolinski Morris, Ford’s senior United States economist. “Consumers are uncertain which manufacturer to entrust with their purchase and whether to hold out for a better deal.”
Ford said it would increase production in the second and third quarters by 52,000 vehicles, or 6 percent. That is in contrast to significant cutbacks at Chrysler, which has idled all of its United States plants for the last month, and G.M., which is shutting 13 plants for part of the summer to clear out inventories.