A number of automakers posted solid Canadian sales increases for the month of November on Tuesday.
Japanese automaker Toyota topped the list, the first time it has supplanted General Motors as the top seller in Canada. Preliminary data shows Toyota Canada Inc. sold 16,112 Toyota and Lexus cars, SUVs and trucks in November 2009, up 26 per cent from the same period last year.
The Toyota brand sold 14,829 vehicles in November, up 27.4 per cent from a year earlier. The boost was led by truck sales, which were up 54.1 per cent. Toyota's Lexus division sold 1,283 vehicles, up 11.4 per cent to its best November on record.
Between the mainstream Toyota brand and its luxury Lexus, the company sold 843 hybrid vehicles in the month, up 22 per cent.
Ford sold 15,895 cars during the month, good enough to leapfrog General Motors to be the second largest car seller in Canada. It had set itself apart from its North American competitors earlier this year by neither filing for bankruptcy protection nor asking for government bailout money.
The vehicles built at Ford's Oakville, Ont., plant which include the Lincoln MKX, Ford Edge and Ford Flex posted sales increases of as much as 25 per cent.
In October, Ford pledged to produce at least as many vehicles in Canada as it sells in the country. During negotiations with the Canadian Autoworkers at the time, Ford agreed to consider a third production shift at the Oakville facility if warranted by market conditions.
GM's Canadian arm sold 14,983 vehicles in Canada in November. That was good enough for third place, but the automaker's sales came in nearly 30 per cent below last year's level.
Chrysler came in fourth place, with 11,418 vehicles sold a drop of 26 per cent from last year's level.
Meanwhile, Hyundai continued to cement itself as a legitimate rival to the five traditional dominant Canadian car sellers of General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Honda and Toyota.
Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. said it sold a record-breaking 7,022 units in November, up 26.2 per cent from a year earlier.
It was Hyundai's 11th straight month of double-digit sales increases, and 10th straight record-breaking month. With a month to go, 2009 has already become the company's best-ever year for Canadian sales.
The month was less bright for Honda Canada, which sold 8,896 vehicles at its Honda and Acura divisions last month, down four per cent from November 2008.
Automotive industry consultant Dennis DesRosiers was nonplussed by the sales figures, noting that total sales this year are still 12 per cent below last year's level.
"You can see just how weak November was last year, which puts November 2009 into perspective," he said.
