June Auto Sales Beat Street Views

Wall Street got an upside surprise from the U.S. vehicle sales figures for June, which showed some of the strongest monthly data since 2007.

Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Corp. GM saw sales rise 9.2 percent and one percent respectively, while Ford Motor Co. F sales were down a less- than-forecast five percent.

GM posted a surprising one percent gain from a year earlier, selling 267,461 vehicles in the recent month despite widely reported setbacks.

Analysts had a 6.3 percent decline in GM sales for June.

GM's Chevrolet brand fell 2.5 percent with Malibu and Impala models proving a particular drag. GMC truck sales rose 10.6 percent while Cadillac grew one percent.

GM closed Tuesday up 3.55 percent at $37.59.

Chrysler's nine percent sales increase represents the fastest growth for the period since 2007.

Chrysler sold 171,086 vehicles in June, up from 156,686 vehicles in June 2013. This despite two fewer selling days in the recent period compared with a year earlier.

Chrysler's Fiat sales rose 11 percent and the Dodge brand grew "slightly."

Sales of the newly-launched Chrysler 200 mid-sized sedan totaled more than 5,000 units.

Ford sold 222,064 vehicles in June, down five percent, but slightly ahead of the average of analysts' forecasts, calling for 217,007 vehicles.

Ford attributed better than the expected performance to sales of its Fusion midsize sedan, up 14 percent to 27,064.

Ford closed Tuesday's session at $17.21 a share, nearly unchanged.

Sales on a combined basis for Hyundai and Kia amounted to 118,051 vehicles, up two percent from June 2013.

Volkswagen Group sales totaled 49,796 vehicles, including the Audi and Porsche brands.

Honda Motor Co posted a six percent decline with sales totaling 129,023 vehicles.