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A new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sign is pictured after being unveiled at Chrysler Group World Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan May 6, 2014.Rebecca Cook/Reuters

The Canadian division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said its July sales fell 14 per cent from the same month last year.

The company said retail sales were down 16 per cent in July to 20,886, while fleet sales of 3,783 were up 2 per cent.

The smaller numbers come as the company deals with regulatory investigations in the United States into how it reports sales in that country. Fiat Chrysler is facing civil claims that allege it used bonus payments to dealers to encourage them to report false monthly vehicle sales figures.

Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have opened investigations; Bloomberg News has reported that one of the investigations is a criminal probe of the company for potential securities fraud.

Fiat Chrysler recently changed its methodology for counting sales, and the Canadian unit is using the new method as of July. However, spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin said she could not say how many cars the company would have sold in the month if it had stayed with its former method of recording sales.

Ms. Gosselin confirmed the company "has not completed the verification data for earlier periods [other than July, 2015] using this new methodology."

Despite the weak monthly numbers from Chrysler, Bank of Nova Scotia senior economist Carlos Gomes said demand for cars in this country remains relatively strong.

"The reality is through the first half of the year, we did have sales in Canada increasing to record highs," he said.

Mr. Gomes said the growth in demand was largely driven by sales in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, which made up for decreases in resource-producing provinces such as Alberta, which he estimated experienced a decline of 6 per cent or 7 per cent in the first half.

However, Mr. Gomes noted the slowdown in July was broad-based across the industry, with eight manufacturers reporting lower sales during the same month.

General Motors of Canada Ltd. said it sold 21,255 vehicles in the country in July, down 6.8 per cent from the same month last year.

On Wednesday, Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. reported a total of its 29,778 vehicles were sold in Canada in July, an increased of 9.6 per cent from a year earlier.

Honda Motor Co. said its Canadian sales fell 4 per cent last month to 16,869 units.

With a report from Reuters

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SymbolName% changeLast
BNS-N
Bank of Nova Scotia
+1.21%51.78
BNS-T
Bank of Nova Scotia
+0.94%70.07
F-N
Ford Motor Company
+1.68%13.28
GM-N
General Motors Company
+1.7%45.35
HMC-N
Honda Motor Company ADR
-0.24%37.23

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