TORONTO: Ford Motor Co of Canada Ltd said on Wednesday that it was the country's top seller of new vehicles in the month of August, as sturdy truck demand helped it maintain leadership for a fifth consecutive month.
Ford said August sales rose 2.6 percent to 27,988 vehicles, from 27,268 in the same period last year. Truck sales climbed 10.4 percent, to 22,539 vehicles, offsetting a 20.5 percent drop in car sales, to 5,449 vehicles.
"We look forward to continued momentum in the fall," said Ford Canada Chief Executive Officer Dianne Craig in a statement.
Chrysler Canada said it posted a 22 percent jump in August sales, to 26,825 cars and trucks, from 21,932 last year, marking its biggest August sales ever and best year-to-date sales on record.
Truck sales rose 33.3 percent, to 24,302 vehicles, while car sales dropped 31.8 percent to 2,523, said Chrysler, a unit of Fiat SpA. Year-to-date sales are up 7 percent.
Strong sales for such core brands as Dodge Grand Caravan, Jeep and Ram put the company "on pace to have the best year in our 89-year history," said Chrysler Canada Chief Operating Officer David Buckingham in a statement.
Honda Canada reported a 44 percent jump in August sales of its Honda and Acura brands, to 13,663 vehicles.
Honda unit sales rose 50 percent, to 12,081 vehicles, led by an 88 percent jump for the Honda Civic, 60 percent increase for the Odyssey and 35 percent gain for the CRV.
Acura sales grew 9 percent in August, to 1,582 vehicles, Honda Canada said. Toyota Canada Inc said monthly sales rose 4.8 percent to 18,487 vehicles, lifted by a 9.2 percent increase in truck sales to 8,978 vehicles, an all-time August record.
Canadian growth mirrored a strong US performance, with the industry selling at an annualized pace not seen since early 2006. The unexpectedly strong US sales were, in part, due to heavy discounting by manufacturers.
With most of the top automakers reporting August sales by midday on Wednesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate last month was a higher-than-expected 17.3 million vehicles, well above the 16.6 million forecast from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
It was the highest rate since 17.6 million in January 2006, according to research firm Autodata.
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