CHICAGO -- All three U.S. big automakers -- Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group and General Motors Co. -- reported increases in sales last month over the same period of the past year.

Ford Motor Co. U.S. saw a rise of 14 percent in sales last month, its best performance for May since 2006. Chrysler Group LLC, meanwhile, said it sold 166,596 vehicles in May, a rise of 11 percent and the company's best performance for the month of May in six years, while General Motors Co. said its U.S. sales of vehicles topped 252,894, up 3 percent. GM's U.S. increase in vehicle sales was led by vehicles of the Cadillac brand, which soared 39.9 percent.

GM's Chevrolet brand vehicle sales were also up 0.9 percent, and the GMC brand vehicle sales jumped 7 percent, but sales for the Buick brand vehicles fell by 3.1 percent.

Ford, based in Dearbon, Michigan, said its Escape compact SUV had its best month ever in its 13 years, with sales up 26.2 percent from May 2012 to 29,123. Fusion sales also rose 10 percent in the past month.

The Auburn Hills-based Chrysler posted sales increases for 38 months in a row. The company's Ram brand vehicles posted an increase of 24 percent in sales, while its sales of Dodge brand vehicles were up 23 percent. Vehicles of Fiat and Jeep brands both rose by 1 percent, but sales for the Chrysler brand fell 2 percent.