CANADA - June sees the top six automakers push ahead with growing sales and broken records.

The Detroit 3 and Japan's biggest automakers posted higher Canadian sales for June, on an annual basis, boosted by growing demand for light trucks and an extra selling day during the month.

Across the industry, June sales hit a new record for the month, rising 7.4 percent to 191,088 on an annual basis, Canadian auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers said Monday. Sales of trucks, SUVs and vans grew 14 percent, even as sluggish sales of sedans declined 2.9 percent on an annual basis, he wrote in a note.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported sales of 27,776 in June for an increase of 2 percent compared with the same month in 2015. For the first half of 2016, FCA Canada said it sold 152,439 vehicles, a record high for the automaker.

"At the mid-year point, FCA Canada is on pace for another record-setting sales year," Dave Buckingham, COO of FCA Canada, said in a statement.

Scotiabank, in a June report, projected Canadian auto sales will rise to 1.96 million vehicles in 2016, up from a record-breaking 1.9 million cars and light trucks last year.

In May, Canadian auto sales slipped 1.5 percent on an annual basis, the first monthly decline since December 2015, in part because the month had two fewer selling days.

The market rebounded strongly in June after a slower month in May," DesRosiers said. "Sales finished 6.0 percent higher for the first half of 2016, without a clear sign of slowing down."

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors also reported higher Canadian sales for June, on an annual basis.

Ford said it sold 28,718 vehicles in June, a gain of 7 percent for the month. Demand for pickups fueled a near 12 percent rise in Ford's sales for the first half of 2016, with the automaker reporting the sale of 149,942 vehicles during the six-month period.

General Motors delivered 26,045 vehicles in June, up 8 percent compared with the same month in 2015. GM said the month had 26 selling days, compared with 25 in June 2015. GM said its retail sales rose 19 percent in June and 6 percent in the first half of the year.

Behind record hybrid and truck demand, Toyota Canada Inc. sold 22,004 Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles in June, an increase of 6.4% compared to 2015. Sales in the first half of the year reached 113,410, a gain of 8 percent compared to the first six months of 2015.

The Toyota division, which includes Scion, recorded June sales of 20,252 for a gain of 7.9 percent compared to 2015, while Lexus said deliveries slipped 8.5 percent to 1,752.

Honda Motor reported a 2 percent rise in June Canadian sales, on an annual basis, with 16,905 units sold during the month. The Honda division reported June sales of 15,273, up 4 percent over last year, and marking an all-time June record for the brand.

Nissan Group reported June deliveries of 14,132 for an increase of 13 percent over 2015 and the best sales month ever for the company. Volume rose 13 percent at the Nissan brand and 5.4 percent at Infiniti.

In the United States, which reported results on July 1, the pace of auto sales slowed in June compared to a year ago, as slumping sales of sedans offset strong demand for pickups and sport utility vehicles. The seasonally adjusted annual sales pace for June was 16.66 million, according to Autodata Corp., down from 17 million vehicles a year earlier.

Automotive News Canada

Report Here