TORONTO - Some of the world's largest automakers have reported record July sales in Canada despite disappointing industry results south of the border in the face of high gasoline prices.
Ford Canada, the top-selling automaker in Canada, reported its best July in 32 years, with car and truck sales edging up one per cent over the same month last year to 27,344 vehicles.
Chrysler Canada posted its best July in the automaker's history, with sales up five per cent at 23,385 last month from 22,319 in July 2010. That was its 20th consecutive month of year-over-year growth.
Both automakers were among the few to post July gains in the U.S., as skittish consumers pulled back on car buying and threatened to derail the industry's fragile recovery.
High gas prices -- which averaged 126.27 cents a litre in Canada on Wednesday -- have precipitated a North American trend toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
At Ford Canada, car sales were up 10 per cent in July, driven by strong interest in its Fiesta, Fusion and Taurus models.
But truck sales fell three per cent as the company noted that high gas prices were pushing consumers toward more fuel-efficient choices.
"We have been seeing consumers migrate from trucks to cars throughout the year due to several factors, including higher fuel prices," said David Mondragon, president and CEO of Ford Canada.
So far this year, Ford's car sales are 23 per cent higher than they were at the same time last year, while truck sales are down 0.5 per cent.
Chrysler also reported a big boost in car sales, which grew 33 per cent from last July, adding that truck sales were also strong.
"July was a remarkable month for Chrysler and it shows in our results," said Reid Bigland, president and CEO of Chrysler Canada.
"We announced a Q2 adjusted net profit of $181 million, a 30 per cent increase in revenues to $13.7 billion and now our strongest July sales in the 86-year history of Chrysler Canada," he said.
Year-to-date, Chrysler Canada sales are up 13 per cent at 145,000 units compared with 127,793 in the same period last year.
Ford Canada sales are up five per cent, with 167,721 vehicles sold this year, compared with 159,965 sold in the same year-ago period.
In the U.S., AutoNation Inc., the country's largest dealership chain said Wednesday that its new vehicle sales fell four per cent in July compared with the previous year, while overall U.S. sales rose just one per cent for the month.
A lack of discounts and continuing shortages of Japanese cars kept many buyers away, causing sales to sputter for the third straight month. Americans also worried about the weakening economy.
Japanese automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have been hit hardest, cutting factory production because of parts shortages blamed on the March earthquake and tsunami.
Those automakers and many others were expected to report Canadian sales figures later Wednesday.
