Brazil car sales rise in May after April drop

* Sales rise 5.38 percent in May after April drop

* Sales down 0.15 pct in first 5-mo of 2009 vs 2008

SAO PAULO, June 1 (Reuters) - New car, truck and bus sales in Brazil rose 5.38 percent in May from April, after falling sharply in the previous month, national dealers' association Fenabrave said on Monday.

Sales rose to 246,981 units in May, Fenabrave said. Compared with May 2008, sales were up 2.04 percent.

Brazil is a major market for global automakers such as Italy's Fiat SpA (FIA.MI), Germany's Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE), U.S.-based General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N). Asian and French manufacturers are also boosting their presence in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy.

In the first five months of 2009, sales totaled 1.15 billion units, a 0.15 percent drop compared to the same period last year.

New car, truck and bus sales in Brazil fell 13.6 percent in April from March after four straight months of gains.

Automakers were hit hard by the global financial crisis, cutting investments and laying off workers. They were among the struggling industries to benefit from government tax breaks aimed at reviving important sectors of the economy.

(Reporting by Cesar Bianconi; Writing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by Diane Craft)