US May car sales finally revealed and surprisingly Ford Motor edged its archival and perennial first-place automaker General Motors sales when it came to sales last month. Although likely a temporary blip, Ford outsold crosstown rival GM by about 3,000 new cars and trucks in May, making it temporarily the largest automaker in the U.S. market. It was the first time Ford outsold GM since March 2016. Before that, it hadn't happened since March 2011.
Ford's sales rose 2.4% for the month compared to the same month last year, GM was down 1.4% and the third of Detroit's Big 3, Fiat Chrysler, was down 0.9%. Overall, all automakers selling new vehicles in the U.S. saw a 0.5% drop for the month. Toyota sales were off 0.5% but Honda and Nissan posted slight gains among Japan's Big 3.
Here's how the major automakers fared in the U.S., with all sales figures compared to May 2016:
General Motors
Projection: 3.1%
Actual results: -1.3%
Fiat Chrysler
Projection: -4%
Actual results: -0.9%
Nissan
Projection: 1.1%
Actual results: 3%
Honda
Projection: 0.6%
Actual results: 0.9%
Volkswagen Group
Projection: 3.7% (includes Porsche)
Actual results: The VW brand rose 4.3% to 30,014 units. The company's Audi luxury brand was up 2.5% to 19,197 units. Porsche sales rose 5% to 4,805 vehicles.
Hyundai and Kia
Projection: -4.4%
Actual results: Not yet released.
The Korean sister brands are ailing amid the industry-wide shift to bigger vehicles. Cars still represent 69% of their sales, well above the industry average of 37%, according to Kelley Blue Book.
May auto sales: Ford outsold crosstown rival GM, Nissan and Subaru up
Projection: 11.8%
Actual results: 12.1%
