Toyota Canada Inc. sales fell 10 per cent last month in the wake of a freeze in sales on its most popular vehicles after a recall because of sticky accelerator pedals.
Overall sales rose 6 per cent in January in Canada, but industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. described them as disappointing in comparison to a woeful January, 2009, which represented the worst January for sales since 2001.
A 15-per-cent drop in sales of Toyota brand vehicles was offset by a 62-per-cent jump in cars and trucks sold by its luxury Lexus brand, Toyota said Tuesday.
Sales of Corolla, the auto maker's most popular car in Canada, fell 38 per cent from year-earlier levels. Corolla deliveries to customers were halted last Wednesday and are expected to resume this weekend.
The RAV4 crossover utility vehicle, the no. 2 seller in the Toyota lineup, slid 15 per cent. Its sales were also halted last Tuesday when the auto maker put a freeze on sales of eight vehicle lines and announced a production halt that began on Monday and is expected to last until next week.
Toyota said its U.S. sales fell 16 per cent last month from year-earlier levels.
Separately, Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. reported its best January on record with a 32-per-cent surge to 6,084 vehicles.
Sources said that Chrysler Canada Inc. and General Motors of Canada Ltd. will show increases for January when full sales results are released later Tuesday.
Honda Canada Inc. said its sales slumped 15 per cent in January, but picked up in the last 10 days of the month when the auto maker introduced 0.9-per-cent financing on its Civic, Accord and CR-V models.
Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. said it sales rose 6 per cent in January.
More to come