TORONTO - Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan, Honda and Subaru all reported sharp increases compared with a year ago as the industry continues to recover from the beating it took during the recession
However Toyota Canada, feeling the lingering effects of a string of safety recalls, reported a drop in sales for November.
Overall car and light truck sales totalled 115,981 for November, up 13.6 per cent from a year ago, according to industry statistics compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants
Pushing the increase was a nearly 27 per cent gain in truck sales which totalled 64,986 for the month, up from 51,335. Car sales gained just 0.4 per cent to come in at 50,995 for November, up from 50,787 a year ago.
Year-to-date sales are up 7.1 per cent compared with last year.
However, automotive consultant Dennis DesRosiers pointed out that sales a year ago were particularly weak.
"Given the incredibly incentive dollars in the market I actually believe that November sales were disappointing the market," DesRosiers wrote in a note.
"Much of this incentive money was on light trucks so it isn't surprising at all that light truck sales in November were up 26.6 per cent while passenger car sales for the month were flat at 0.4 per cent. The market goes where the money is."
GM Canada said that sales of its Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands increased almost 60 per cent to 15,912 last month, compared with the same period a year earlier.
"We have had sustained retail growth all year, in line with our targets, and are winning new customers with every new vehicle we launch," Marc Comeau, GM Canada's vice-president of sales, said Wednesday in a statement.
Strong demand for the Chevy Cruze, the automaker's latest small car, helped nearly double sales for the Chevrolet brand. Year-to-date, GM Canada said it sold 173,192 vehicles overall, up 26.6 per cent from the same period last year.
The improvement came as General Motors returned to the market as a publicly traded company in North America's largest initial public offering after a bankruptcy restructuring that saw it shed billions in debts and costs.
Toyota, which has three assembly plants in southern Ontario including a Corolla/Matrix plant and a Lexus plant in Cambridge, Ont., and a RAV4 plant in Woodstock, Ont., said it sold 12,169 vehicles, including its Scion and Lexus luxury brand, down 24.5 per cent from November 2009.
Toyota sales were also down in the U.S., where Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan, Hyundai and Honda all reported double-digit increases.
Chrysler Canada reported its best November since 2002, selling 15,308 vehicles for the month, up 34 per cent over November last year.
The Dodge Grand Caravan minivan, Dodge Journey cross-over and Dodge Ram pickup truck had their best November ever, the automaker said.
"We are on the home stretch of a very good year," Chrysler Canada president and CEO Reid Bigland said.
For the first 11 months of the year, Chrysler Canada has sold 165,993 vehicles _ up 40.7 per cent over 117,965 in 2009, when the company shut down most of its production for several weeks due to the bankruptcy and bailout of its U.S. parent.
Ford Canada reported a 15.5 per cent increase in November sales compared with a year ago, making it the company's best November in nine years.
The company sold 18,382 vehicles over the month, up from 15,909 a year ago, to bring its total for the year to 248,497, up from 207,286 for the first 11 months of 2009.
"Having a more balanced portfolio of cars, crossovers and trucks has helped us give Canadian consumers what they want," chief executive David Mondragon said.
Honda sales totalled 9,427 vehicles, up from 7,955 a year ago, while its luxury Acura brand sold 1,449 vehicles, compared with 941 in November 2009.
Hyundai sold 7,739 vehicles, up from 7,022 a year ago.
Kia Canada, a relatively small but up-and-coming player in the Canadian market, said its November sales totalled 4,022 to bring its sales for the year so far to 50,843, the first time the company has broken the 50,000 mark.
Subaru Canada said sales for November increased by 15.9 per cent to 2,567 vehicles compared with the same time last year to bring its total for the year over the 25,000 vehicle mark.
Nissan Canada Inc. said it sold 5,786 vehicles, an increase of 8.9 per cent over November 2009 and its third consecutive month of year-over-year growth. Altima continued to be the strongest seller in the Nissan line-up, followed by Sentra and Rogue last month.
