New car and light truck sales in Northeast Ohio continue to climb.
Sales in May rose nearly 12 percent from a year ago in the 21-county region of the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers Association.
And new vehicle sales in Summit County rose 3.7 percent from a year ago, according to information from the Akron-based Northeast Ohio Auto Dealers Association.
Sales are up 8.8 percent since Jan. 1 in Summit County and also up 8.8 percent in Northeast Ohio.
Ford and Chevrolet remained the top-selling brands in the region.
But the newly redesigned Mazda 6 mid-size sedan and Hyundai Santa Fe crossover showed the largest percentage increases — not total sales — among new models in Summit County compared with a year ago.
Mazda 6 sales in the county hit 16 in May, up 433 percent from a year ago. Sales since Jan. 1 totaled 50, up nearly 178 percent from the same period in 2012.
County sales of the Santa Fe, meanwhile, increased to 27 in May, up 170 percent from a year ago. Since Jan. 1, sales total 107, up nearly 110 percent from the same period in 2012.
The new Santa Fe is appealing to young families as well as grandparents, said Scott Marhofer, general manager of Marhofer Hyundai in Green. Sales have taken off since the model started appearing in showrooms earlier in the year, he said.
“It’s not a huge SUV but it has a lot of interior room,” he said. “It covers every angle.”
Overall Northeast Ohio sales also beat national trends.
U.S. automobile sales were up 8 percent in May compared with May 2012, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association. There were 1.4 million light vehicles sold last month.
Since Jan. 1, there have been 6.4 million new cars and light trucks sold in the United States, up 7.1 percent from the same period in 2012.
That puts the nation on track to sell nearly 15.2 million new vehicles for the full year, according to the NADA. For the same period last year, the pace was at nearly 14.1 million vehicles.
The national June selling rate is projected to hit 15.7 million vehicles, giving the summer sales season its strongest start since 2007, Automotive News reported Friday. The forecasting organization LMC Automotive told Automotive News that it expects full-year light vehicle sales of 15.4 million for 2013. June sales results will be released in early July.
“This year has been up tremendously in new and used. We’ve seen that in our business [at the Marhofer Hyundai store],” Marhofer said. “We’re up about 10 percent in this store in new cars. ... Our sales have been up a long time. Maybe the rest of the market is catching up.”
The top 5 best-selling models in Summit County through May are:
• Ford Escape, 350;
• Ford Fusion (tie for 2nd), 273;
• Ford Focus (tie for 2nd), 273;
• Ford F-150, 270;
• Chevrolet Cruze, 250.
The 5 top-selling brands in Northeast Ohio through May are:
• Ford, 17,671 — up 14.6 percent from a year ago.
• Chevrolet, 13,646 — up 10.7 percent.
• Toyota, 7,824 — up 6.7 percent.
• Honda, 7,817 — down 0.4 percent.
• Kia, 5,158 — down 13.3 percent.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.