GM sales in Canada fall 20 per cent in May, while Honda and Toyota sales up

THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - General Motors, which announced plans Tuesday to close four North American truck plants including one in Ontario, said its sales in Canada fell 20 per cent in May compared with a year ago - further eroding its already shrunken market share.

However, overall Canadian sales of autos and light trucks remained strong at 184,467 vehicles last month - slipping a mere 0.5 per cent from a record high May in 2007 and well above the 175,500 sold in April, according to DesRosiers Reports.

Auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers said the woes of the U.S. market don't seem to be taking hold in Canada.

"I honestly sit back each month and hold my breath in anticipation of this bubble bursting but alas there is still no sign of Canada letting up," DesRosiers wrote in a report.

"June is the last of the really big months that determine whether Canada has a good year or a great, year so I'll have to hold my breath for a little while longer."

Offsetting problems at General Motors, which saw its market share fall nearly three percentage points to 21 per cent, was strength at the Japanese automakers and Chrysler, the only North American automaker to make gains last month or this year.

GM said Tuesday truck sales for the month totalled 16,011, down from 23,852, a drop of 32.9 per cent, while car sales for the month dropped 5.8 per cent at 20,266, down from 21,507.

"May sales results continue to reflect a rapid accelerated shift in consumer demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient small cars and crossovers as a result of rising fuel prices," said Marc Comeau, GM Canada's vice-president of sales, service, and marketing.

GM's marketshare, year to date, was 21.7 per cent, down from 24.6 per cent a year ago. Chrysler's share was essentially flat at 14.7 per cent, while Ford's share slipped to 12.6 per cent of vehicles sold in Canada last month.

Meanwhile, Toyota sales in Canada totalled 26,664, up 15.5 per cent from a year ago.

The Japanese automaker sold 6,776 trucks, up 14.4 per cent from May 2007, while car sales totalled 19,888, up 15.8 per cent. Sales of Toyota's Lexus brand totalled 1,825, up 11.8 per cent. Toyota's market share, with both nameplates, rose just above 13 per cent.

Honda said Canadian sales in May increased three per cent to 16,896 vehicles, while its Acura line sold 1,996 vehicles, up 13 per cent over last year. Honda's combined market share, with both lines, was just under 11 per cent of overall Canadian sales.

Hyundai sales were 9,508, up 22.3 per cent from 7,776.

Sales at Ford were 23,562, down 6.4 per cent from 25,160 a year ago, while Chrysler sales in May were 27,201, up 6.2 per cent from 25,605 in May 2007.

DesRosiers noted that the three U.S. automakers' market share fell to just 47 per cent in May and was below 50 per cent market share year to date.

Mercedes-Benz posted the biggest percentage gain in sales among the automakers, climbing 44.8 per cent compared with a year ago. Mercedes-Benz sold 2,192 vehicles in May, up from 1,514.

GM announced Tuesday it was shutting four North American truck plants, including one in Oshawa, Ont., that employs 2,600 people. The company had previously announced it would end one of two shifts by September and now plans to idle it completely.

CEO Rick Wagoner said the Oshawa pickup truck plant, east of Toronto, will cease production in 2009.

In addition to Oshawa, the plants being closed are a factory in Janesville, Wis., making the Chevy Tahoe/Suburban big SUVs; a Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy plant in Moraine, Ohio; and the Chevrolet Kodiak medium-duty truck plant in Toluca, Mexico.

For the year to date, GM said it has sold 158,365 vehicles, down 8.2 per cent from 172,458 in the first five months of 2007.

GM truck sales totalled 78,037, down 17.1 per cent from 94,151 in the same period a year ago, while car sales were 80,238, up 2.6 per cent from 78,307.

© The Canadian Press, 2008