U.S. autos sales tick up in May

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co, Chrysler Group and Nissan Motor Co on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected U.S. new car sales in May, with consumer demand continuing to gather strength as temperatures rise across the country.

GM and Chrysler said May sales were the best in seven years, and Nissan set a sales record for the month.

GM's May sales were up 12.6 percent to 284,694, well above the consensus of nine analysts polled by Reuters. All four GM brands reported sales increases, with gains at Chevrolet and GMC driven in part by strong demand for new full-size utility vehicles and pickups.

The U.S. auto industry is forecast to show a third straight month of strong sales after cold and snowy weather held down results in January and February. Analysts polled by Reuters expected May industry sales to rise about 7 percent, with an annual sales rate of 16.1 million vehicles.

Chrysler expects the industry's annual sales rate in May to finish at 16.9 million vehicles, including medium and heavy trucks, which account for about 300,000 vehicles each year. GM projected the annual rate in May at 16.5 million.

Monthly auto sales are seen as an early snapshot of consumer demand for big-ticket items. U.S. new-car sales in April rose 8 percent, and the annual selling rate finished at 16.04 million vehicles.

U.S. sales for Chrysler, a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, finished at 194,421 vehicles in May, above analysts' estimates.

Sales of Chrysler's Jeep SUV line jumped 58 percent to 70,203 vehicles in May from a year earlier, while Ram pickup truck sales increased 17 percent to 37,131 vehicles.

Nissan said U.S. sales rose 18.8 percent to a record 135,934, with double-digit gains at both its Nissan and Infiniti brands.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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