Canadian auto sales continued to tumble in April as consumers remained wary of spending on big-ticket items because of the global recession, industry figures showed on Friday.
No. 1 automaker General Motors of Canada (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it sold 29,800 cars and trucks in the month, down 23.6 percent from April 2008. Year-to-date sales are down 34.1 percent from 2008, it said.
Toyota Canada Inc (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said its Toyota and Lexus vehicle sales totaled 21,220 in April, down 16.6 percent from April 2008, but leaving it as the country's No. 2 automaker. This included 19,599 Toyotas sold during the month, it added.
Sales at Chrysler Canada [CBS.UL] plunged 36.8 percent to 15,242 units from a year ago, while Ford Canada (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) saw a drop of 10.5 percent to 18,782 units, according to data compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.
In a statement, Dennis DesRosiers, the head of the consulting firm, referred to April as "another terrible month" for sales, adding: "don't expect this to get any better."
+ April 2009 Auto Sales: U.S. Fall 34%,GM Improves,Toyota Slips as Industry Decline Eases
+ April 2009 Auto Sales: BMW U.S. Sales Decline 38.4%
+ April 2009 Auto Sales: Declines,Chrysler:48%,Toyota:42%,GM:35%,Ford:32%
+ April 2009 Auto Sales: Toyota, Nissan Led 29% Drop in Japan
Honda Canada Inc (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said combined April sales at its Honda and Acura divisions fell 29 percent from a year earlier to 13,295 units.
"Although our April results are down from record April 2008 results, they are only off by 12 percent over 2007 sales results," Jerry Chenkin, executive vice-president at Honda Canada, said in a statement. (Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Rob Wilson)
