May 2009 U.S. Auto Sales - Amid Turmoil, Dealers See Modest Gains

Despite the uncertainty leading up to General Motors’ Monday, June 1 bankruptcy announcement, auto sales saw modest improvement during the month of May. According to numbers from Autodata Corp., 106,284 more cars were sold in May than in April of this year.

International Brands Hold Market Share Edge
International brands sold 501,096 vehicles in May, up from 442,124 vehicles in April, but down from 776,272 in May 2008. Asian brands accounted for 45.6 percent of the market, down from 48.1 percent in April 2008, and Europeans had an 8.5 percent share, up from 7.5 percent. Domestic brands finished the month with 45.9 percent of the market.

Top Selling Vehicles Hold Steady
The Ford F Series Pickup Truck took back its number one crown from the Honda Accord this month. The Ford pickup has been positioned in the number one spot every month of 2009 with the exception of April. The Ford Fusion (7 on the list) and the Volkswagen Jetta (19) are the only vehicles to see positive growth from May 2008. The Fusion is up 9.4 percent over this time last year, the Jetta is up a whopping 27.6 percent. International vehicles hold 10 of the top 20 vehicles slots for the month of May.

Trucks vs. Cars
Consumers purchased more Asian cars in the month of May over the domestic light truck by a difference of 4,062 vehicles. This trend began in March of this year and is expected to grow as international vehicle shares continue to rise.

Outlook
Manufacturers sold 925,824 new cars and trucks in May, the highest level thus far in 2009. Those sales resulted in a seasonally adjusted annual selling rate of 9.9 million, up from a predicted rate of 9.3 million in April.

See below for a complete breakdown of May 2009 monthly and year-to-date sales by international nameplate.