By the Numbers - May 2009: GM and Ford Surprise Edition

We weren't expecting this, especially from General Motors, which was forced to sell cars and trucks last month amidst rumors of impending bankruptcy (something that came to fruition as soon as the month was over). Despite this, GM posted a decrease in sales volume of only 29.55%. Sure, GM's sales decreased last month compared to May 2008, but they decreased at a far slower rate than its major Japanese competitors: Toyota (-40.72%), Honda (-41.46%) and Nissan (-33.10%). Plus, check out the chart below and you'll notice that GM's top four performing brands – Chevy (-23.74%), Cadillac (-39.86%), GMC (-22.13%) and Buick (-16.98%) – are the same ones that will be transferred over to New GM after it emerges from bankruptcy, which is certainly a good sign.
Ford Motor Company performed best of the mutli-brand manufacturers with a sales slide of only -24.25%. The Blue Oval was helped by new product offerings like the redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ, as well as an unexpectedly strong sales performance by Lincoln, which was the only brand this month that recorded a sales increase (credit the new MKS and a 103.3% increase in Town Car sales).

The rest of last month's sales results are below, all ordered by the most number of vehicles sold by volume to the least.

. Brand Volume May-09 May-08 DSR* DSR 5/09 DSR 5/08 . Ford -25.47% 137,167 184,042 -22.60% 5,276 6,816 . Toyota -41.22% 135,661 230,813 -38.96% 5,218 8,549 . Chevrolet -23.74% 127,510 167,202 -20.81% 4,904 6,193 . Honda -41.95% 88,875 153,104 -39.72% 3,418 5,671 . Nissan -32.58% 60,933 90,379 -29.99% 2,344 3,347 . Dodge -48.34% 41,399 80,130 -46.35% 1,592 2,968 . Hyundai -20.42% 36,937 46,415 -17.36% 1,421 1,719 . Kia -16.06% 26,060 31,047 -12.83% 1,002 1,150 . GMC -22.13% 23,926 30,724 -19.13% 920 1,138 . Jeep -39.67% 21,624 35,841 -37.35% 832 1,327 . Volkswagen -12.43% 19,568 22,346 -9.06% 753 828 . BMW -27.82% 18,383 25,469 -25.05% 707 943 . Subaru -5.05% 17,505 18,436 -1.40% 673 683 . Lexus -36.37% 16,922 26,593 -33.92% 651 985 . Mazda -40.12% 16,718 27,921 -37.82% 643 1,034 . Chrysler -51.22% 15,987 32,776 -49.35% 615 1,214 . Mercedes-Benz -38.18% 15,134 24,480 -35.80% 582 907 . Pontiac -52.34% 13,329 27,966 -50.51% 513 1,036 . Mercury -24.81% 10,221 13,593 -21.91% 393 503 . Acura -36.42% 9,469 14,893 -33.97% 364 552 . Buick -16.98% 9,160 11,033 -13.78% 352 409 . Lincoln 2.40% 8,566 8,365 6.34% 329 310 . Saturn -55.54% 8,046 18,099 -53.83% 309 670 . Cadillac -39.86% 8,027 13,348 -37.55% 309 494 . Audi -12.08% 7,503 8,534 -8.70% 289 316 . Infiniti -38.10% 6,496 10,495 -35.72% 250 389 . Volvo -22.95% 5,577 7,238 -19.98% 215 268 . Volvo -22.95% 5,577 7,238 -19.98% 215 268 . Mini -26.96% 4,610 6,312 -24.16% 177 234 . Mitsubishi -58.27% 4,352 10,430 -56.67% 167 386 . Suzuki -75.06% 2,585 10,364 -74.10% 99 384 . Porsche -29.22% 1,979 2,796 -26.50% 76 104 . Hummer -40.64% 1,094 1,843 -38.36% 42 68 . Saab -63.55% 783 2,148 -62.15% 30 80 . . COMPANIES . General Motors -29.55% 191,875 272,363 -26.84% 7,380 10,088 . Ford Mo Co -24.25% 161,531 213,238 -21.33% 6,213 7,898 . Toyota Mo Co -40.72% 152,583 257,406 -38.44% 5,869 9,534 . Honda America -41.46% 98,344 167,997 -39.21% 3,782 6,222 . Chrysler Group -46.88% 79,010 148,747 -44.84% 3,039 5,509 . Nissan NA -33.10% 67,489 100,874 -30.52% 2,596 3,736 . BMW Group -27.65% 22,993 31,781 -24.87% 884 1,177 . . *The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 days for May 2009 and 27 for May 2008. .