The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result, Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148 units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.
General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Chrysler Group reported U.S. sales of 115,363 units, a 10 percent increase over the same month a year ago and the best May sales since 2008.
Hyundai continued its ascent announcing an all-time record May sales of 59,214 units, up 21 percent compared with the same period last year, while sister company Kia posted its best-ever monthly sales of 48,212 units, a 53.4-percent increase from May 2010.
Porsche reported sales of 2,817 units (+50%), Volkswagen 30,100 vehicles (+27.9%), Audi 10,457 units (+13.6%), Mercedes-Benz 20,708 vehicles (+4.7%), Mitsubishi 7,568 units (+59.8%), Subaru 20,036 (+7.6%) and BMW 26,452 vehicles (+19.7%).
