Best April on record for Canadian auto sales: DesRosiers

Sales of new cars and trucks climbed 5.7 per cent last month from a year ago, making it the best April on record for Canadian automakers, according to a new report from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

Canadians bought 189,072 vehicles last month, despite economic concerns in Western Canada stemming from low oil prices.

“The economic challenges facing Alberta and Saskatchewan have not seemed to impact national sales,” the Toronto-based automotive consulting firm said in its report.

Year to date, sales are up 3.7 per cent to 557,645 vehicles.

General Motors led the pack, with its sales growing 14.5 per cent compared with April 2014 to 29,127 vehicles.

“Customer demand for our Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars and trucks continues to grow in the Canadian marketplace,” John Roth, the company’s vice-president of sales, service and marketing said in a statement. “Our three truck strategy, offering the full range of pickups, from the mid-size Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon to the full-size and heavy-duty, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, to meet customers’ varied needs, has driven GM Canada to be the pickup sales leader for the month of April.”

Fiat Chrysler claimed second spot, with April sales inching one per cent higher to 27,473.
Ford Canada came in third place as sales dipped 0.1 per cent to 27,307 vehicles.

Meanwhile, Honda saw sales tick 5.6 per cent higher to 14,447, while Hyundai’s sales grew 1.5 per cent to 14,525 vehicles.

Toyota’s sales fell by 2.8 per cent from a year ago to 18,495.

Luxury vehicles recorded double-digit sales growth, with Porsche selling 47.8 per cent more vehicles while BMW’s sales grew by 36.8 per cent.