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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — June new-vehicle retails sales by members of the American International Automobile Dealers Association represented a greater amount of the industry total than the previous month.

AIADA leadership tabulated its brands accounted for 53.4 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States in June, up from 52.9 percent in May.

Specifically citing numbers from Autodata Corp., the association noted international brand franchise dealers sold 525,845 units in June. That figure was down from 582,658 in May and 540,077 in April.

Officials went on to point out sales of Asian brands accounted for 44.8 percent of the overall market, down from 45.1 percent in May. They mentioned European nameplates had an 8.6 percent share, a rise from 7.8 percent in May.

Digging deeper into the sales numbers revealed the brands that enjoyed the best year-over-year sales gains in June included Hyundai (35 percent), Mazda (32.8 percent) and Subaru (16 percent).

June sales data also indicated Toyota sold the most vehicles of any international brand. That nameplate moved 123,272 units, which represented a 7.4-percent gain from a year ago. Coming in next was Honda at 95,788 vehicles.

AIADA also noted domestic brands finished the month with 46.5 percent of the market, down from 47.2 percent in May. Officials mentioned General Motors led all U.S. sales with 194,716 units.

As articulated by the association and several other outlets, dealers struggled to move new-vehicle inventory in June as compared to the previous month.

The association highlighted that overall June sales — including domestic brands and unadjusted for business days — were 14.4 percent higher than June 2009. The mark also represents a 16.7-percent jump for the year. However, AIADA conceded that sales dropped 10.8 percent from May.

Leadership believes the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for light vehicles now stands at 11.08 million — an improvement over 9.7 million units in June 2009 — but still less than many analysts had predicted for the year.

AIADA attempted to share reasons why retail sales slipped for the entire industry.

"Falling consumer confidence, at its lowest recorded level since March, and disappointing unemployment numbers are being blamed for the tepid recovery in auto sales," officials indicated.

AIADA president Cody Lusk elaborated on how those factors are affecting sales performance.

"These numbers are a reminder that the U.S. auto industry's retail recovery will be a gradual process with both ups and downs," Lusk stressed.

"Dealers are working every day to provide consumers with the safe, reliable vehicles they want," he continued.

We are confident that slow and steady year-over-year increases are the hallmark of true and lasting revival," Lusk concluded.