(FINAL) May 2015 U.S. LV Sales Thread: 17.7 Million SAAR Best Since July 2005

WardsAuto tracks light-vehicle (LV) deliveries throughout sales reporting day. Monthly year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR).

May had 26 selling days this year and 27 in 2014, meaning DSR % change will be larger than year-over-year volume change comparisons this month. 

See below for automaker synopses, updated throughout the day - and related articles for more detailed reports. 

SUMMARY: U.S. automakers sold 1.627 million light-vehicles in May, the largest single-month tally since July 2005, as well as the highest DSR (62,558) since that date.

Monthly deliveries equated to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.71 million-units - also the highest since July 2005.

GM led all automakers with 293,097 deliveries and an 18% share of sales, followed by Ford, with 245,626 LV deliveries (15.1% share) and Toyota, with 242,579 sales for a 14.9% share.

FCA topped the 200K threshold, grabbing 12.3% of LV sales to finish in the No.4 spot, while Honda finished in the No.5 sales position for the second month in a row, with 9.5% of sales, the automaker's highest market share since October. 

Nissan's 134,779 deliveries and 8.3% market share easily outpaced Hyundai and Kia's combined 7.7% share. 

Subaru accounted for 3% of deliveries, with 49,561 sales lifting its DSR 16.5% above year-ago.

May's DSR was a 5.5% improvement over like-2014, and brought year-to-date U.S. light-vehicle sales to 7.01 million units, up 4.5% over same-period year-ago. 

See company synopses and link to summary data table below.

Related Table
U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary table

UPDATE 2:30 PM ET: KIA sales were up 7.9% in May, for a monthly tally of 62,433, and YTD sales 4.1% ahead of same-period last-year. 

UPDATE 2:00 PM ET: BMW Group reported BMW- and Mini-brand LV sales of 36,836, an 8.3% improvement over year-ago that leaves BMW 10% of its 2014 YTD total through five months. 

German rival DAIMLER doubled BMW's year-over-year gain, reporting 33,215 LV deliveries in May, a 16.6% DSR improvement, that brings the automaker's YTD total to nearly 151,000 units, 9% above year-ago, and slightly less than 10,000 below BMW's 5-month tally of 160,533.

UPDATE 12:30 PM ET: VOLKSWAGEN nearly matched sister-brand Audi, in year-over-year comparisons, outpacing year-ago on a daily basis by 12.2%. The positive result, nonetheless, leaves VW lagging 2014 YTD by 4.2%.

UPDATE NOON ET: NISSAN sales were up 3% over a strong year-ago, on the strength of 134,779 deliveries, putting the Japanese automaker 2.9% ahead of its year-ago five-month total, at over 612,000 sales YTD. 

Earlier, AUDI reported 18,428 May deliveries, a 15.3% jump in DSR, leaving the German automaker up 11.7% YTD. Fellow European marque Volvo delivered 5,023 LVs in May, leaving the company's YTD sales flat with year-ago. 

UPDATE 11:40 AM ET: FORD delivered 245,626 light vehicles in May, a 2.6% gain in DSR that put the automaker just ahead of Toyota in the No.2 position for the month. Ford's DSR was the company's highest since June 2006. Ford's strong May brought the automaker's YTD sales to 1.04 million units, up 2.1% of year-ago. 

HONDA after repeatedly falling below expectations in recent months, came in well above WardsAuto's forecast for May, delivering 154,593 LVs. It was Honda's best DSR since August, and the second-highest since August 2009. Honda deliveries are up 1.3% YTD, the lowest year-over-year gain of any of the Top 7 automakers in the market.

UPDATE 10:15 AM ET: GENERAL MOTORS sold 293,097 LVs in May, giving the company its highest DSR (11,273) since September 2008, the month prior to the precipitous economic downturn that led to the recession, and its highest monthly sales volume since August 2008. GM's DSR was up 6.9% compared with same-month year-ago, and brings the automaker's year-to-date sales to nearly 1.25 million units, 4.9% ahead of like-2014.

May was a banner month for FCA as well, as the company delivered more than 200,000 LVs for the first time since March 2007, and achieved its second-highest DSR in eight years, just behind March of this year. FCA's DSR was up 7.7% vs year-ago, and brought the automaker's YTD LV tally to 891,261, a 5.5% improvement over same-period year-ago.

Toyota recorded its highest DSR since May 2008, on the strength of 242,579 deliveries. Toyota's DSR was up 3.6% over a very strong year-ago result, and put the company's YTD sales 6% over year-ago at 1.02 million units.