GM new car, truck sales rise 17 pc

DETROIT: General Motors Co says its May sales rose 17 per cent on strong new product sales and a big government fleet contract.

The improvement came over a dismal May of last year as GM was heading into bankruptcy protection.

GM says sales from its four brands - Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac - rose 32 per cent for the month. GM is phasing out or selling Saab, Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer.

All automakers are scheduled to report US sales on Wednesday. Sales were expected to be higher than last May, when the industry was hurt by the economic downturn.

Edmunds.com says incentives fell slightly across the industry compared with April, but GM boosted them by 13 per cent.