U.S. auto sales rose more than expected in May as construction workers and oil drillers bought more pickup trucks to meet growing demand for their services, a trend that major automakers expect to persist throughout the year.
Car and truck sales rose 8 percent during the month, according to Autodata Corp. The annual sales rate was 15.3 million vehicles, beating the 15.1 million rate expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters through last week.
Rising U.S. housing prices and relatively stable gas prices bolstered auto sales in May, executives said on Monday. Consumer confidence in May rose to its highest level in more than five years, according to data released last week.
"Equity value, home prices, security of jobs, rising income - all of those are supportive of consumer confidence," General Motors Co (GM.N) Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem said during a conference call with reporters and analysts on Monday.