U.S. auto sales fall 33.7 percent

Sales of passenger cars and light trucks in the U.S. market dropped 33.7 percent in May compared with a year ago, Autodata Corp. reported Wednesday.

U.S. vehicle sales a year ago stood at 1,397,033. In May, with Chrysler LLC in bankruptcy and General Motors Corp. on the cusp, sales tumbled to 925,824, Autodata said.

GM, which filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday, sold 190,881 vehicles in the month, a 29 percent decline from the same period a year ago. Chrysler’s sales of passenger cars and light trucks dropped to 79,010, a drop of 46.9 percent from May 2008. Ford sold 161,197 vehicles, down 21.3 percent.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. recorded the sharpest decline among active, non-luxury automakers with U.S. sales 75.1 percent lower than a year ago. Mitsubishi Motors North America sales fell 58.3 percent. Sales at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. dropped 40.7 percent to 152,583 vehicles.

Subaru of America sales fell 5 percent, while Volkswagen Group of America sales dropped 12.6 percent. Kia Motors America sales fell 16.1 percent.

Only GM, Ford and Toyota sold more than 100,000 passenger cars and light trucks in the U.S. market in May.