Double-digit percentage gains for Mazda's CX-5 crossover and Mazda6 mid-sized sedan helped the brand halt a four-month U.S. sales skid.
Mazda sales rose 19 percent to 24,270 units in May, its first monthly sales gain of the year. The increase lifted Mazda's sales to 122,447 vehicles through May, but they remain off 1 percent compared with the first five months of 2012.
Sales of Mazda's perennial best-seller, the Mazda3 compact car, stabilized in May, with deliveries rising 5 percent to 8,935 units. Mazda3 sales had declined every month this year, including drops of 21 percent in March and 17 percent in April.
The Mazda3's improvement allowed the brand to reap gains from the increasing popularity of the CX-5, which hit a monthly sales record of 7,128 units last month, up 79 percent from May 2012.
A splashy ad campaign for the redesigned Mazda6 helped drive a 72 percent increase in its sales to 3,944 vehicles. Mazda says the May results were the model's best for the month since 2008.
