2019 Chrysler Pacifica minivans are seen on a transport truck leaving the FCA Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ont., on Oct. 5, 2018.REBECCA COOK/Reuters
Auto sales in Canada fell 5.9 per cent in May from a year earlier, marking declines for the fifteenth straight month, according to industry data released on Monday.
A report released by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said the country’s auto sales plunged to 202,800 units in May from 2l5,407 a year earlier.
Sales of passenger cars dropped about 17.4 per cent, while light truck sales remained more or less unchanged.
“Some brands are doing very well in this market. Product cadence has a lot to do with that,” David Adams, president of industry association Global Automakers of Canada, said in a separate report.
“If you were to apply the percentage that the market is down through May to the entire year, we would still come in at almost 1.9 million units, making 2019 one of the best sales years ever,” he said.
Among major auto firms, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV reported a 25-per-cent fall in total May auto sales in Canada.
The company, which is one of the top car makers in the country, sold 21,042 vehicles in May, with its Chrysler brand reporting a 56-per-cent plunge in sales.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sales in the United States, however, rose 2.1 per cent to 218,702 vehicles, as demand for both light-and heavy-duty pickup trucks remained strong.
Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. all posted sales gains in the United States for May compared with a year-ago period.