TORONTO - Canadian vehicle sales were essentially flat in May due to weak sales by some of the traditionally strong automakers, allowing Hyundai to surpass Honda and move into a top-five position for the first time.
Overall Canadian vehicle sales for May edged up to 154,285 units a gain of 0.2 per cent compared with a year ago when two of the industry's biggest players, General Motors and Chrysler, were in the middle of a massive restructuring. according to data compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
Hyundai sold 12,620 vehicles in May, up 12.6 per cent from a year earlier and outselling Honda by just over 1,000 units. This marked Hyundai's second consecutive month of record-breaking sales, the company said.
"Hyundai products are clearly resonating with Canadian customers," said Steve Kelleher, president and CEO of Hyundai Canada.
Meanwhile, Honda slipped into sixth place, selling 11,587 vehicles including its luxury Acura division. Year to date, Honda has captured 8.6 per cent of the Canadian vehicle market, but Hyundai is fast approaching with eight per cent of the market to date.
Toyota Canada's sales also fell in May, losing 16.1 per cent to 17,879 vehicles including its luxury Lexus brand. The Japanese automaker had been resilient in Canada up until April despite a global recall of millions of its vehicles for problems ranging from sticky accelerator pedals to instability in its Lexus sport utility vehicles, but sales have fallen by double digits for the past two months.
Of the North American automakers, Chrysler saw the biggest gain, with sales jumping 53.5 per cent to 20,861. However, this compared with a dismal May last year, when sales fell by 50 per cent compared to May 2008.
Chrysler credited "the strength of a solid product offering and soaring confidence in the company" as well as strong incentives for boosting the company's sales. Sales of the company's minivans, which are produced in Windsor, Ont., nearly doubled to 5,773, while Jeep brand sales increased 74 per cent and Chrysler car sales were up 57 per cent.
Ford's Canadian sales were up 19.4 per cent to 26,110 vehicles due to strong sales of the Ford Taurus sedan and the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers, the company said. Year to date, Ford has claimed top spot at 16 per cent of the Canadian market, ousting General Motors from its traditional first-place position. Ford truck sales were up 29 per cent while car sales fell by almost four per cent.
GM Canada sold 25,995 vehicles in May, down 17.6 per cent from a year earlier including the brands that were discontinued during the company's restructuring last year. However, sales of the company's core brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac -- were up 15.4 per cent.
Among other automakers, Nissan sold 7,487 vehicles in May, down 2.4 per cent, while its Infiniti luxury brand sold 745 vehicles, up 3.8 per cent.
Mercedes-Benz saw Canadian sales of 2,865, up 22.2 per cent, while BMW's sales fell 11.8 per cent to 2,361.
Volkswagen sold 4,587 vehicles in May, up nine per cent, while Audi's sales rose 13.4 per cent to 1,226.
Kia sold 5,731 vehicles, up 13.9 per cent, while Mazda sales gained 0.5 per cent to 8,051, Mitsubishi sales were down 6.3 per cent to 1,810 and Subaru sold 2,436 vehicles, up 25.6 per cent.
