Ford overtakes GM in June sales in Canada
Last Updated: Thursday, July 2, 2009 | 5:22 PM ET
CBC News
June sales at Ford of Canada jumped 25 per cent while sales at General Motors Canada fell 31 per cent, the companies said Thursday.
The results put Ford ahead of GM in total Canadian sales in June, 27,408 units to 22,334.
GM's car sales were down almost 40 per cent, and truck sales down nearly 20 per cent. Total vehicles sold fell by 10,031 units from 32,365 in June 2008.
Ford sold 27,408 vehicles, with cars slipping slightly and truck sales surging more than 36 per cent to 20,760 units, media reports said.
Toyota sold 18,160 vehicles, including its luxury Lexus brand, a drop of more than 17 per cent from the same month last year.
Chrysler Canada sold 9,211 vehicles in June, less than half of the June 2008 total of 22,194. Sales were hurt by the shutdown of Chrysler plants for several months this year while the company was in bankruptcy protection.
"With our plants down, limited inventory on the ground and virtually no fleet deliveries, we were relegated to the bench for much of May and June," Chrysler Canada president and CEO Reid Bigland in a news release.
Optimistic outlook
Chrysler is expecting to take the first or second spot in Canada once it gets up to speed, Bigland said.
Marc Comeau, GM of Canada's vice-president of sales, service and marketing, emphasized the positive while announcing the drop.
"The Canadian-built Chevrolet Impala had a strong month, increasing sales by 30.2 per cent," he said, adding the Canadian-built Chevrolet Equinox will be arriving in dealerships this month.
GM expects the Equinox's fuel economy will be a selling point.
South Korean vehicles do well
June was a good month for the Canadian arms of two South Korean automakers, the companies said Thursday.
Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. said it sold 10,104 vehicles in the month, up 26 per cent from June 2008.
Kia Canada said its sales of 5,200 vehicles were up 37.9 per cent from the same month last year, and were "the best sales month in the company's 10-year history in Canada."
Hyundai said sales of its Elantra and Santa Fe models both rose more than 100 per cent, compared with June 2008. Combined sales of the two models were over 4,700 units.
Hyundai said its year-to-date sales are up more than 21 per cent, "while the industry is down a similar amount." Kia didn't provide year-to-date figures.
In contrast to Hyundai and Kia, Honda Canada Inc. reported a 17 per cent drop in combined June sales at its Honda and Acura divisions.
Honda sales were down 20 per cent to 11,942 units, while the Acura division reported a 13 per cent jump to 1,812 units.
"Consumer confidence seems to be improving, as each month there is a small increase in sales compared to previous months," Jerry Chenkin, executive vice-president of Honda Canada, said in a news release.
Audi Canada said its sales were up 52 per cent to 1,106 units in June. The month was the best in company history, Audi said.
Nissan Canada Inc. said Nissan and Infiniti sales rose 3.5 per cent in June to 6,743 units.
Volkswagen Canada sales were the highest in nine years, up 15.8 per cent to 4,513 vehicles.
