Toyota Is Back as May Sales Continue Auto Industry Recovery

"Almost halfway through the year, the auto industry keeps chugging along toward a mid-14 million unit sales pace," said Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell, in a prepared statement. "With continued pent-up demand and consumers gaining more and more access to credit, there's every reason to believe that sales can continue at this rate through the rest of the year."

J.D. Power said retail sales, which include cars sold directly to consumers, should total 1.1 million units, up 20%, the largest year-over-year gain since February 2011, when retail sales increased 27% over the same month the previous year.

"The fact that we continue to see strong month-over-month results in retail sales points to the underlying strength of the recovery for the industry," said J.D. Power analyst John Humphrey, in a prepared statement.

-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.

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