General Motors Canada saw its year-over-year sales slip by 12.4 per cent in May, the month before the company's U.S. parent entered bankruptcy protection.

Amid the upheaval in the auto market, GM Canada said it sold 31,784 units last month, down from 36,277 a year earlier. But GM Canada's year-over-year car sales were down by 40 per cent to 12,168. Truck sales, however, rebounded by more than 22 per cent to reach 19,616.

While GM Canada's year-over-year sales were off, the company pointed out that its May sales were up 6.3 per cent from April.

Toyota Canada also reported a sharp drop in sales, as the company sold 21,316 units, which was off 25.2 per cent from May 2008. The company sold 19,729 Toyota vehicles during the month — down 26 per cent year-over-year — while Lexus sales were off 13 per cent at 1,587 vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia both reported record Canadian auto sales for May, while Honda said its sales were off by 17 per cent from last year.

As automakers released their monthly sales figures, Kia Canada said it sold 5,032 vehicles last month, passing 5,000 units for the first time. Kia said its sales were up 25.5 per cent over May 2008.

Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. said it sold more than 11,200 units — the company's best month on record — and had a 17.8 per cent increase in sales compared with the same period last year.

On the downside, Honda Canada Inc. said its combined May sales for the Honda and Acura brands were 15,624 units, a 17 per cent decrease from record sales in May 2008. The company sold 14,046 Honda units — a drop of 17 per cent year-over-year — and 1,578 Acura units, which was 21 per cent below last May.

Canadian results are still pending for Chrysler. The U.S. parent of Chrysler went into bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in April, although the Canadian operations did not follow suit.

On June 1, General Motors also filed for creditor protection, but, as with Chrysler, its Canadian operations did not make a filing in Canada.