VEHICLES SEE SALES RISE IN MAY

It’s a sign consumers are ready to put the COVID -19 disruptions behind them. In May, 113,224 new light vehicles were sold in Canada, a 147-per-cent jump over April’s sales, according to a report by Desrosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. Still, May 2020 car sales were down considerably compared to the same period last year. “It’s a measure of the strange times in which we find ourselves in that a market decline of only 44 per cent can seem like a positive sign. However, following the estimated 74.6 per cent decline in April — which sent Canadian new light vehicle sales levels back in time to roughly the early 1950s — May’s year over year decline can evoke a touch of cautious optimism as the first tentative shoots of recovery spring up from a badly damaged marketplace,” the consultants said.