Region’s vehicle sales up for May

Houston-area new vehicle sales increased in May, an indication that the outlook for dealers might be improving after months of declines.

Retail sales in the region totaled 22,779 new vehicles last month, up nearly 20 percent yearover-year, according to data from the TexAuto Facts Report, published by Sugar Land-based InfoNation. That is the highest total since August.

The increase follows some improvement in April, when sales declined only slightly year-overyear. May’s sales topped April’s by 21 percent.

New-vehicle sales in the region are expected to grow modestly for the remainder of the year, according to the TexAuto Facts Report, potentially providing some relief for area dealers pinched by the oil bust. New-vehicle sales fell sharply last year after a record-setting 2015 and have been slow to recover despite the recent uptick in oil prices. Newvehicle retail sales in the first quarter reached the lowest level since 2011, and passenger-vehicle sales saw the sharpest declines.

Group 1, the region’s largest dealership chain, also posted lower firstquarter profits. The company said in the spring that it expects the local auto market to remain challenged until energy companies invest more heavily in drilling and hiring.

Despite the declines, suburban dealers generally have outperformed others in the region. Those dealers have claimed a 25.1 percent market share for the last three months after 18 consecutive monthly increases.

Truck and SUV sales, however, slipped after months of steady gains. Retail market share for those vehicles fell a percentage point from April to 67.2 percent, the lowest level since October.