The Australian automotive market is set for a period of growth according to industry experts, after figures showed sales are rising.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that sales rose by 2.1 per cent in May, as the economy helped to foster an improved market.

In the year to May, a record 934,970 cars were sold, as population increases and an upturn in domestic fortunes helped to yield greater sales.

Commsec chief equities economist Craig James told the Sydney Morning Herald that he expected the trend to continue.

"Car prices are continuing to fall, real incomes are rising and the job market is getting stronger as evidenced by unemployment at 23-year lows," he said.

"Importantly, the overall car market is continuing to be boosted by the strongest trend population growth in almost a decade."

The ABS provides monthly estimates of car sales in seasonally adjusted and trend terms after receiving the actual sales data from the car industry.

The figures support a growing optimism among industry observers, with both the European and US markets showing steady, if limited, growth.