Toyota boosts US sales in May, outsells Ford again

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. --Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's biggest automaker, boosted US sales 14 percent in May, outselling Ford Motor Co. in its home market for the third time in seven months.

The increase moved Toyota a step closer to passing Ford to become the number two automaker in the United States. Ford failed to stem its plunging truck sales while carrying out a plan to cut back on low-margin car sales to rental companies. General Motors Corp., the biggest US automaker, had a surprise 9.6 percent gain.

"We're going to continue to see Ford struggle as they go through their transition period here," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with Global Insight Inc. in Lexington. "We're going to continue to see Toyota pushing forward."

The US industry recorded a 5 percent sales increase to a 2007 high of 1.56 million cars and light trucks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Asian automakers lifted their share of the market by 1.2 points, to 41.4 percent.

DaimlerChrysler AG, which last month agreed to sell the US Chrysler unit after nine years of ownership, posted its second consecutive monthly advance. Chrysler Group sales rose 4.3 percent, helped by a redesigned Jeep Wrangler and the new Dodge Nitro.

Toyota sold 269,023 cars and light trucks in May -- a record for the month -- spurred by a tripling of sales for the Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car. Ford's 6.8 percent drop marked its seventh consecutive monthly fall.

Until May, US industry sales had increased only in March, as rising fuel prices and declining homes sales kept buyers away from showrooms.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline reached a record of $3.23 during May, according to the American Automobile Association.

Ford's sales to rental car companies fell 24 percent in May, part of a 14 percent decline in overall sales to business fleets, George Pipas, Ford's chief sales analyst, said in an interview. Sales to retail customers fell 3 percent, he said.