AKIPRESS.COM - Brisk demand for SUVs and pickup trucks — and five sunny weekends — pushed U.S. auto sales to a nine-year high in May, the US media said.

Chrysler, Nissan and Toyota all reported double-digit sales gains over last May. Even General Motors, battling bad publicity from a mishandled recall, surprised with a 13 percent sales increase.

Ford’s sales rose a better-than-expected 3 percent, while Hyundai’s were up 4 percent. Of major automakers, only Volkswagen’s sales fell.

May is traditionally a strong month for the auto industry, as buyers spend their tax refunds and think ahead to summer road trips. Sales were particularly strong the last weekend of the month, automakers said.

Honda was up 9 percent, led by the Ohio-made Accord, which was up 19 percent, the AP reported.

While Honda had a good month, its sales are essentially flat for the year, with a 0.3 percent increase through five months.

Industry sales rose 11 percent to just over 1.6 million in May. That was the highest monthly total since July 2005, according to Kelley Blue Book.

The surge helped erase doubts about the strength of the industry. January and February sales were weaker than expected as consumers spent more time shoveling snow than shopping.

June should bring more of the same, said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book. May sales were driven by pent-up demand from the winter, he said, but the summer months will likely be strong because of other factors, including low interest rates, good lease deals and enticing new vehicles.

Automakers didn’t need big discounts to boost sales. Car-buying site TrueCar.com estimated incentives were flat from last May and up 4 percent from April to $2,677 per vehicle. TrueCar said Hyundai, Kia and Honda had the biggest increases in incentives in May. Chrysler, GM and Nissan offered fewer deals.

GM said May was its best month since August 2008. Sales of its GMC Yukon and Buick Encore SUVs more than doubled, and buyers snapped up the new Chevrolet Corvette. GMC Sierra pickup sales gained 14 percent.

Brauer said buyers haven’t been deterred by GM’s multiple recalls — 13.8 million vehicles so far this year — and questions about how long the company took to report safety problems in older cars.

“Car buyers are willing to forget the past and look at the present and future for GM,” he said.