Toyota, Nissan post big gains, Hyundai has record…

Toyota and Nissan reported very strong May sales with growth vs. last May of 17% and 18.8% respectively.

Meanwhile, among other Asian automakers, Hyundai was up just 3.7% but that was good for its best month ever in the U.S. Corporate sibling Kia, up a stronger 14.5%, also had its best month in the U.S.

EUROPEAN MAKERS: VW continue, Audi and Jaguar boom

U.S. MAKERS: GM strong despite recalls, Chrysler up a lot and Ford a little

TOYOTA: In its topline sales preview, the Japanese maker was led by Camry and Corolla and said that its results reflected industry-wide strength. The company will report more details later today.

"Industry sales in May soared as consumer confidence improved and demand for new vehicles continued to strengthen," said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. "Toyota had its best month in six years led by strong Camry, Corolla and Hybrid sales."

NISSAN: Nissan Group total sales of 135,934 were a May record for the automaker. By its brands, Nissan sales were up 17.8% vs. a year ago to 125,558, while the Infiniti premium brand, with a lineup being revived, was up a whopping 31.4% to 10,376.

The Nissan-brand best-seller was the Altima midsize sedan, which is just launching its 2015 model with revised pricing and features. Altima sales were a May record 36,053, up 12.9%. The new-generation Sentra's sales were up 75.4% to 21,932, the Rogue small SUV was up 8% to 18,722, the subcompact Versa up 30.5% to 11,243 in May and the quirky Juke sporty crossover was up 33.4% to 3,825. Nissan also said it was the best month ever for its Leaf electric car, with sales of 3,117, up 45.8%.

Decliners were mostly on the truck side and included, surprisingly, the redone Pathfinder crossover (down 15.1%) and also the big Armada SUV (-28.2%), the Quest minivan (-11.6%) and the Titan pickup (-16.8%).

The Infiniti brand was led by the new Q50 sports sedan (formerly the M) up 75.8% to 2,938. But the brand's trucks showed declines ! for the month, except for the QX80 full-size SUV, up 4.5%. The QX60 three-row crossover was down 7.3% from a year ago, but remained the brand's No. 2-seller at 2,736.

HYUNDAI: The South Korean brand, which just launched a refreshed 2015 version of its mainstream midsize Sonata sedan, said May sales up 3.6% to 70,907 were led by its two-SUV Santa Fe line (up 50% from May a year ago to 10,368).

Sales of the current Sonata, however, were about flat from last year at 20,404 and the brand's best-seller, the Elantra compact, fell 18.7% to 21,867.

KIA: Hyundai corporate sibling Kia -- which noted it is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the U.S. -- also reported its best month here ever, with sales up 14.5% to 60,087. Sales drivers were demand for its Optima midsize sedan, up 9.6% to 16,843, and for the boxy Soul compact,, up 36.7% to 15,606 -- the best month ever in the U.S. for both.

Also up strongly was the Sportage compact crossover, and the Sorento midsize posted a gain. Like other makers, it showed some weakness in its smaller cars, with the Forte compact flat and the Rio subcompact own.