Ford , Chrysler post higher sales in May compared to year earlier

TORONTO - Ford Motor Company of Canada and Chrysler Canada both posted higher sales in May compared with a year ago.

Ford said sales in May edged 0.5 per cent higher, boosted by its truck sales. The automaker sold 32,490 vehicles last month, up slightly from 32,338 in May 2012. Truck sales rose 4.6 per cent to 23,537, from 22,509 a year earlier. However, Ford saw its car sales drop by 8.9 per cent to 8,953, from 9,829 last May. Sales for the year to date totalled 117,987, up 5.7 per cent for the first five months of 2012 when Ford sold 111,638 cars and light trucks.

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Meanwhile, Chrysler Canada said it sold 12 per cent more vehicles this May compared to the previous year, but still fell short of Ford's total. Chrysler sold 29,249 vehicles last month, compared to 26,218 a year ago, helped by strong sales of its passenger cars and Ram trucks. Chrysler said passenger car sales grew by 24 per cent. The automaker said it sold 113,012 vehicles in the first five months of the year, up six per cent from the 106,581 year-to-date sales in May 2012.