US automakers enjoy bumper sales

Top US auto firms enjoyed a double-digit jump in domestic sales in May, cashing in on an economic recovery after a bumpy ride that saw giants like General Motors and Chrysler thrown into bankruptcy.

Toyota, reeling from a recall crisis, also saw its sales modestly rise as Americans continue to have faith in cars produced by the Japanese giant.

The best performer in May was Chrysler, posting a 33-percent increase in year-on-year sales about a year after emerging from bankruptcy protection. GM, which reported last month its first post-bankruptcy quarterly profit in three years on the back of cost-cutting measures, said its sales rose 16.6 percent.

Ford, the strongest of the local auto giants, said its sales soared 21.9 percent the sixth month in a row its sales increased more than 20 percent. Toyota meanwhile posted the smallest year-on-year sales increase in May among the big players after being plagued by massive safety recalls earlier this year. Its US sales climbed 6.7 percent from a year earlier to 162,813 units. Overall, sales of auto companies in the United States rose more than 19 percent in May to 1.1 million units from a year earlier, the seventh straight increase.

This was higher than the 11.4 million units expected by most economists.

GM and Ford sales also exceeded expectations as gas prices decreased and consumer confidence rebounded as the world's largest economy started to emerge in the middle of last year from the worst recession in decades. AFP