Major Canadian automakers reportedly posted mostly solid sales gains in June, according to figures released on Monday, as consumers responded to the generous incentives on offer to buyers.
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The rebound last month followed a disappointing May but industry experts told the Reuters news agency even the sturdy June figures would not help the market avoid an overall sales decline on the year.
The report said independent industry analyst Dennis Desrosiers had projected sales would fall 3% to 5% on the year.
“It’s been tracking down 7 or 8%, so we were expecting a little bit of an improvement,” Desrosiers told Reuters. “It’s to be expected, given the heavy discounting in the marketplace. There seems to be some life in this market after all (but) we’ll still be down on the year.”
According to Reuters, General Motors of Canada, the country’s biggest automaker, said total monthly sales rose 6.9% to 36,366 vehicles in June – car sales were up 4.7% and light truck sales, which include minivans and sport utility vehicles, jumped 9.0% over the same month last year.
DaimlerChrysler Canada reported an 8.3% increase in total sales to 24,251, its best monthly performance in two years, the news agency said. An 11.9% rise in truck sales helped offset a modest 1% decline in car sales.
Toyota Canada, which notched a record six-month sales tally this year, reportedly said June sales rose 7.0% to 16,441 vehicles – car sales rose 12.2% but truck sales fell 7.2%.
Reuters said Ford Canada bucked the upward trend, saying total sales fell 7.6% to 26,075 – truck sales were off 3.7% while car sales dropped 15.4%.
