Ford Canada sales jump 25 percent in June

Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. has claimed the top spot in Canadian vehicle sales in June for the first time in 50 years, the company reported Thursday.

Ford Canada said it sold 27,408 vehicles in June, a 25 percent increase year-over-year.

"Consumers are drawn to the quality, design and value of our vehicles and we're going to keep the momentum growing with great offers this summer," said Ford Canada President and CEO David Mondragon in a statement.

The increase came in a month when General Motors Corp. sought bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Chrysler Canada Inc. dealers were short of vehicles because the automaker's North American plants were shuttered as it also went through bankruptcy protection hearings in the United States.

Ford sold over 5,000 units more than perennial market leader General Motors, whose sales fell 31 percent year-over-year.

"Our June performance reflects the overall softness in Canadian auto sales, but the Canadian-built Chevrolet Impala had a strong month, increasing sales by 30.2 percent," said Marc Comeau, GM of Canada's vice president of sales, service and marketing.

Chrysler Canada's sales fell by a whopping 58 percent to just 9,200 vehicles, as large-volume fleet sales slipped due to the temporary shutdown of the company's North American plants.

Toyota-branded sales volume dropped 18 percent to 17,198 in June compared with 20,871 a year ago.

However, Toyota said it was the company's best June ever for truck sales as the Canadian arm of the Japanese auto maker sold 6,559 trucks.

"Toyota Trucks have captured the imagination of buyers in performance, features and resale value," said Warren Orton, director at Toyota Canada.

Sales at Honda Canada fell 17 percent.

DesRosiers Automotive reports that overall Canadian sales of cars and light trucks were down 13.2 percent in June, falling to 138,500 from 159,529 a year ago.

Canadian auto sales numbers have come out a day after their U.S. counterparts reported that almost all automakers, except Honda, had sales declines last month compared with the same time last year.