Canadian New Car Sales Surge 9%
According to The Star [via Wheels.ca], Canadian new-car sales rose a bit over nine percent vs. the previous financial quarter. This represents the strongest single-quarter sales gain since way back in the middle of 1998. Analysts attribute the growth to lower prices, incentives and a one percent reduction in the goods-and-services tax (GST). The largest gains (17.8 percent) came from sales of passenger cars. Meanwhile, driving.ca reports on April sales, noting that GM’s share of the Canadian pie slipped 13.5 percent. GM said “the drop was a planned reduction in low-profit sales to daily rental fleets.” The company spun the news by pointing out that retail sales of The General’s passenger cars went up by 23.8 percent in the month of April. Anyway, Ford’s Canadian sales slipped by 4.5 percent last month. Winners include Chrysler, up eight percent in April, thanks to a 38 percent increase in the number of minivans driving off the lots. Chrysler Canada adds that it enjoyed its 21st consecutive increase in monthly sales, noting that (just like GM), the company deliberately cut back on fleet sales. Not bad, eh?