Orange County auto dealers sold 14,596 vehicles in May, an 10.7% increase from the same period last year, according to the Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
That’s based on 8,486 new-car and 6,110 light truck registrations in the county.
Japan-based brands accounted for 7,325 sales, up 8.4% from a year ago.
Toyota Motor Corp. led all automakers locally with 2,769 vehicles sold, up 7.5%. Honda Motor Co. was up 11.6% with 1,902 new registrations in the county. Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, posted a 38.9% uptick to 668 vehicles sold here. Honda’s Acura nameplate dipped 14% to 196 vehicle sales.
Mazda Motor Corp., which has its North American operations in Irvine, sold 408 vehicles, a 3.1% decrease, while Subaru of America Inc. was up 25.1% with 319. Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North American Inc. dipped 32.1% with 72 vehicles sold locally.
Domestic automakers in May sold 3,320 new cars and trucks, posting a 22.2% year-over-year increase in sales, a bigger increase than any other group of brands.
The Chrysler brands combined for a 53.7% increase with 968 vehicles. Ford Motor Co. recorded 1,168 sales, up 7.6%. General Motors Co.’s brands—GMC, Buick, Cadillac and Chevy—accounted for 1,087 sales, a 16.5% rise.
European brands were up 14.9% with 2,808 new vehicles registered here.
Customers purchased 952 vehicles from Mercedes dealerships, a 28.3% increase, while 620 chose the BMW brand, about same as last year. Audi sold 310 vehicles, up 22%, and Jaguar sales added up to 23 vehicles, down 20.7%. Italy-based Fiat posted a 5.4% increase for a total of 78 vehicles sold here. Volkswagen sold 342 vehicles, accounting for a 5.5% dip, while its Porsche brand posted a 25.2% increase with 129 vehicles sold here.
The U.S. operations of two South Korea-based brands combined for 1,143 vehicles sold in May, a 10.4% drop year-over-year.
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. sold 652 vehicles, a 1.8% decrease. Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine sold 491 vehicles through OC dealers, a 19.6% drop.
Auto sales in OC have risen each month this year, for a 9.3% year-to-date increase and 76,205 vehicles sold.
