WARREN — Automobile sales in the Mahoning Valley performed well in May, posting the fourth consecutive month of growth from the previous year, when the viral outbreak besieged the industry.

Sales were up 27.5 percent for the month, which saw dealers deliver 5,246 vehicles, according to the latest data from the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association. In May 2020, dealers sold 4,113 vehicles.

For the year so far, sales that totaled 25,965 are ahead of pace last year’s pace, too, up 29.7 percent. Through the same five-month period in 2020, there were 20,004 vehicles sold.

The dealers’ association also reports new car sales in May were up 34 percent, from 2,153 last year to 2,885. For the year, the segment is up 36.6 percent, from 10,394 to 14,208 vehicle sold.

Used car sales in the month rose to 2,235, an increase of 17 percent from May 2020, when 1,909 vehicles were sold. For the year, used car sales are up 20.5 percent, from 9,224 in 2020 to 11,115.

Dealerships in Mahoning County with the most sales to local buyers last month were Greenwood Chevrolet, 252, which made it the overall top-selling dealership in the Valley; Sweeney Chevrolet, 240; and Fairway Ford, 236.

The top new vehicle sellers for the month were Sweeney Chevrolet, 161; Greenwood Chevrolet, 135; and Fairway Ford, 125. The top used vehicle sellers for the month were Greenwood Chevrolet, 117; Fairway Ford, 111; and Fred Martin Ford, 99.

Across the 23 northern Ohio counties in the dealers’ association, new vehicle sales were up 39.2 percent in May and for the year have increased 26.5 percent. Used vehicle sales were up 27.2 percent for the month and 22.7 percent for the year.

“Sales continue to outpace even prepandemic levels,” Louis A. Vitantonio, dealers’ association president, said. “May of 2020 was a month of slow economic recovery, with businesses just beginning to reopen. Now, limited inventory has created a heated market where consumers are taking home their new or used vehicle as soon as they find it.”