Toyota, Hyundai and Kia reported strong sales gains in May, bolstered by hybrids and electric vehicles.
Toyota Motor North America saw its sales climb 16 percent in May to 216,611, powered by a 15 percent boost in Toyota brand sales, while Lexus brand sales rose 17 percent.
Among the automaker's top-selling models, sales of the Toyota RAV4 rose 27 percent, Camry sales were down 7.7 percent, Corolla up 23 percent and Tacoma down 17 percent. Interestingly, the Toyota brand's gain came despite a mid-April recall and resulting international stop-sale on the Prius because of faulty rear-door latches.
The Japanese automaker also said that a record 39 percent of its sales in May were of either hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen-powered or electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Co. posted a robust 12 percent gain in May light-vehicle sales in the U.S., with eight of its 11 marques rising over the same month last year.
The Korean automaker said it sold 78,485 new vehicles during the past month, noting strong gains by its electric vehicles and hybrids.
"We continue seeing great success in our eco-friendly line-up with an overall 50 percent increase year over year," Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement. "Both EVs and hybrids continue to gain popularity."
The gains in EVs and hybrids helped overcome drops in deliveries in two of its leading sellers. The Elantra sedan slipped 15 percent to 13,311 deliveries while the Tucson compact crossover dropped 4 percent to 17,371.
Hyundai's sibling automaker Kia America said May deliveries rose 5 percent to 75,156. The Kia Sportage crossover paced the gains with a 21 percent improvement to 15,512 deliveries. Forte sedan deliveries increased 31 percent to 13,132.
Kia's new electric vehicle, the EV9, posted 2,187 deliveries, a 39 percent gain over April 2024.
Subaru of America reported a 7 percent increase in sales to 58,356, driven by the Crosstrek, up 32 percent to 13,836, and the Forester, up 45 percent to 15,345. It’s top-selling Outback, however, fell 3.7 percent to 16,506. Sales of the electric Solterra were up 255 percent to 1,546.
U.S. new-vehicle sales are projected to rise in May from a year earlier, helped by demand for crossovers and pickups, according to a joint report by industry consultants J.D. Power and GlobalData last week.
Total new-vehicle sales for May 2024, including retail and nonretail transactions, are expected to reach 1,446,800 units, a 2.9 percent jump from a year ago.
Average transaction prices in the month are expected to be about $45,033, down $1,045 from a year ago. Average incentive spend per vehicle has grown 48 percent from a year ago and is on track to reach $2,640.
Reuters contributed to this report
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