Auto sales fall eight per cent in December, 2.6 per cent for 2018
Posted January 3, 2019 3:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says light vehicle sales fell eight per cent in December compared with last year for a tenth straight month of declines.
The auto consultant says 114,289 vehicles sold in December, compared with 124,247 in the same month last year, for a 12.1 per cent decline in passenger car sales and a 6.5 per cent decline in light truck sales.
Total light vehicles sales for 2018 came in at 1.985 million, down 2.6 per cent from the record 2.039 million vehicles sold a year earlier.
Light truck sales, which include pickup trucks and various types of SUVs, rose 0.6 per cent in 2018, while generally more fuel efficient passenger car sales dropped 9.7 per cent year over year.
General Motors, which has faced criticism for plans to close its Oshawa Assembly Plant, saw sales drop 30 per cent in December from a year earlier.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also saw a steep drop at 32.5 per cent, while Ford Motor Co. was down 8.4 per cent. Toyota sales were up 28 per cent and Honda sales were up 11.2 per cent.
The Canadian Press
