Detroit car sales continued to boom in May
The redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee is contributing to strong sales. — Afp picDETROIT, June 2 — US consumers bought Chrysler cars in droves last month, figures released June 2 showed, as the American car market continued to climb.
The Detroit stalwart saw a 30 percent jump in sales between May 2011 and May 2012, it confirmed, selling a total of 150,000 models last month.
The May sales were the best in five years and marked the end of a full year in which the automaker has posted sales gains of at least 20 per cent — Italian brand Fiat, now Chrysler’s owner, set a sales record.
A selection of new models such as the Chrysler 300 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV have boosted Chrysler’s popularity with consumers, analysts say, although healthy discounting to buyers was also offered to help ward off competition from Asian brands.
General Motors, America’s most popular automaker, posted an 11 per cent rise in sales and Ford saw a 13 per cent jump to 215,699 models, enabling it to comfortably hold second spot against Toyota, which came within a whisker of overtaking it last month.
Toyota, which struggled with availability last year as a result of the Japanese earthquake, saw sales jump 87 per cent to 202,973.
Like Toyota, Nissan also saw a healthy recovery, with deliveries up 21 per cent to 91,794 models last month. — Afp-Relaxnews
