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CHICAGO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Ford Motor Co. said Thursday its Maysales went up 2.2 percent to 241,126 vehicles, outselling GeneralMotor's 237,364 vehicles, as automakers increasingly resorted toincentives to lure customers into dealer showrooms.

Ford sold 82,844 vehicles to fleet buyers compared with GM'sfleet sales of 45,976 vehicles. But on a retail basis, Ford sold158,282 vehicles and was easily outsold by GM, which sold191,388.

Ford said its truck sales rose 9.4 percent in May, while SUVsales increased 4.3 percent and car sales slid 10 percent. F-Seriestruck sales totaled 76,027 last month, up 12.8 percent from May2016. It marked the best May results in 13 years.

"May marked a standout month for Ford brand SUVs, with a Mayrecord 74,910 SUVs sold," Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president of U.S.marketing, sales and service, said in a statement.

GM's sales fell slightly in May despite strong SUV sales. Theautomaker sold 237,364 vehicles in May, with sales of crossovers toindividual consumers up 19 percent.

Sales rose an impressive 28.5 percent for Buick and 9.2 percentfor Cadillac while sales fell 3.8 percent for Chevrolet and 5.2percent for GMC.

GM has recently launched or is about to launch new versions ofthe GMC Acadia, GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave andthe Regal TourX. Sales of the Acadia increased 38 percent inMay.

"We expect these launches will enable us to continue gainingretail share as we introduce more all-new compact and midsizecrossovers than anyone else," GM's vice-president of salesoperations Kurt McNeil said in a statement.

However, sales of the company's most popular pickups declined inMay. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado fell 2.7 percent and sales ofthe GMC Sierra fell 8.2 percent.

As for the other one of big three American automakers -- FiatChrysler sales fell one percent to 193,040 vehicles in May comparedto the same month a year ago, as sales of its pickups helped itoffset a decline in Jeep sales. Enditem