Best March ever for Canadian auto sales
Sales of new cars and light trucks were rose 1.9% last month, compared with a year ago, to make it the best March ever for automakers in Canada, according to a report by Des Rosiers Automotive Consultants.
The increase in sales to 160,274 compared with 157,228 a year ago came as improved truck sales overpowered a drop in car sales. In a report, Des Rosiers said light truck sales were up 5.4% to 95,952, while car sales slipped 2.9% to 64,322.
Sales for the year to date are up 2.7% compared with the first quarter of 2014. However, Des Rosiers struck a note of caution about the prospects for the rest of the year.
“While the market is off to a positive start for the year, we do caution that, at this time of year, a number of sales approaches employed by vehicle distributors may result in overestimating the actual retail marketplace,” the automotive consulting firm said.
“January to March are three of the slowest months of the year for new vehicle sales and because volumes are so low these sales tactics can impact actual market performance, especially at a brand level. We will wait to see how the market develops in the key spring selling season.”
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) claimed the top spot in Canada with sales of 25,060, up from 24,649 a year ago, helped by its popular Ram trucks, which made up about 40% of its sales for the month.
Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. of Canada and General Motors of Canada Ltd. battled for second place.
Ford Canada saw its sales flip to 21,367 for the year, down from 22,390 a year ago, while General Motors sales dropped to 21,027 from 21,790 a year ago.
Car buyers in the U.S. stepped on the brakes in March, a sign of a long-expected slowdown in the blistering pace of sales.
March sales were up less than 1% compared with the same month a year ago. U.S. consumers bought 1.5 million new cars and trucks in March, according to Autodata Corp.
The results were mixed, with Toyota saying its sales were up 5% compared with last March. FCA said its U.S. sales rose 2%. But those gains were offset by lower sales at other major automakers. General Motors’ sales fell 2% and Ford and Nissan both saw 3% declines. Volkswagen’s sales plummeted 18%.
March didn’t see the kind of big increases the industry has gotten used to. U.S. auto sales spiked 14% in January, for example, and rose 5% in February.
The industry could be getting a taste of what’s to come as U.S. new-car sales reach a natural peak. Sales have been increasing by around one million vehicles each year since 2009, when sales fell to 10.4 million vehicles in the depths of the recession. But as sales approach the historic peak of 17 million, the pace is expected to slow. U.S. consumers bought 16.5 million new vehicles last year.
Alec Gutierrez, a senior market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said he expects sales to increase around 2.5% this year, or less than one million cars and trucks. March is usually one of the strongest months of the year, he said, as buyers spend tax returns and Japanese automakers offer good deals so they can close out their fiscal years on a high note. “This really shows we’re at a point where sales are going to grow at a much slower pace,” he said.