Sales at Orange County auto dealers rose 6.2% to 13,190 vehicles in May compared with the same period last year, according to Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
The figures, published in the Orange County Auto Outlook report, are based on 8,126 new car and 5,064 light truck registrations in the county.
Japan-based brands accounted for nearly half of May sales, at 6,756, up 9.2% from a year earlier.
Toyota Motor Corp. led all automakers locally with 2,576 vehicles sold, a 12.3% increase, while Honda Motor Co. Inc. posted a 1.9% increase with 1,704 new registrations in the county.
Mazda Motor Corp., which has its North American operations in Irvine, posted an 11.4% sales increase for a total of 421 vehicles sold here in May, while Subaru of America Inc. sold 255, a 22.0% uptick.
Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North American Inc. posted almost identical sales figures as last month—107 vehicles, a 27% increase from same period year earlier.
The locally based U.S. operations of two South Korea-based brands saw their combined sales drop 1.9% year-over-year, for a total of 1,275 vehicles.
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. sold 664 vehicles, down 7.3% from a year earlier.
Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine sold 611 vehicles through OC dealers, a 4.6% increase from a year ago.
Domestic brands—Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram—combined for a 5.9% increase with 630 vehicles sold in May locally. Ford Motor Co. sold 1,085 vehicles, up 5.4% from same period last year.
Auto sales in OC have risen each month this year, for an overall increase of 6.9% to 69,694 vehicles sold in OC.
