U.S. vehicle sales rise skips U.S. firms

NEW YORK, May 4 (UPI) -- Surging U.S. auto sales last month did nothing for General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., but lifted the market shares of Japanese carmakers.

Autodata Corp. said new car sales rose 5.7 percent in April to 1,504,168 vehicles and light trucks, with each of the top three Japanese carmakers notching big numbers and greater U.S. market share, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

April sales rose 41 percent for Toyota Motor Corp., 32 percent for Nissan Motor Co. and 14 percent for Honda Motor Co.

GM sales for the month fell 4 percent and Ford sales slipped 1.6 percent. Weak demand for large sport utility vehicle accounted for much of the decline.

DaimlerChrysler AG sales rose 9 percent in April.