DesRosiers Automotive Consultants claimed that light vehicle sales in Canada dropped in February continuing a downward trend in Canadian auto sales. Sales of light vehicles in the US also declined.
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Canadian light vehicle sales down from a year ago
Desrosiers reports light vehicle sales were 120,891 for February, down from 125,530 in February 2018. This is the 12th month of sales declines from the previous year. The trend away from the sale of passenger cars continued last month with auto sales down 16 percent for the month. In contrast light truck sales rose 1.2 percent.
How individual auto makers did
Fiat Chrysler had the best sales with 18,461 autos sold but this was a two percent drop from a year earlier. Ford came in second but with just a 1.4 percent decline, and GM managed third but with a 9.1 percent drop from 2018.
Other makers had mixed results. Hyundai had a large 14.6 percent gain and Kia a respectable 10.5 jump. European luxury brands Audi, Jaguar, Maserati, and Mercedes all suffered more than 20 percent drops.
US sales of light vehicles also decline
The drop in the US showed that demand for SUVs has slowed after years of strong growth. The decline appears to portend a decline in sales for the full year of 2019.
Toyota Motor Corp. the number 3 automaker in the US by volume said that it had a 5.2 percent drop in sales to 172,000 vehicles for the month. There were declines in sales of the Camry sedan, Tundra pickups, and Sienna minivans.
Fiat Chrysler Autos reported their sales fell 2 percent to 162,036 vehicles. Demand was lower for the Jeep Compass and Renegade sport utility vehicles. Reid Bigland, the head of sales for the US said that the slowdown in the industry is partly due to weather, but also the US government shutdown and concern about tax refunds. MIchelle Krebs of Autotrader said the Compass and Renegade models are typically bought by budget-constrained buy who could be facing some shortage of cash at this time of year.
Analysts claim that rising interest rates on auto loans could also be a factor in lower demand this year. The higher payments required may be leading some potential buyers to postpone purchases for now.
GM and Ford no longer provide monthly sales figures
GM and Ford the two largest US automakers no longer provide monthly sales figures. However Automotive News estimates that Ford US light vehicle sales fell 4.4 percent in February.
Consultants J.D" Power, and LMC Automotive predict that total US auto sales will drop about 1 percent in February to a total of 1.29 million vehicles.
Honda Motor Co. reported a 0.4 percent drop in US sales in February to 115,159 vehicles, whereas Nissan Motor Co sales dropped double digts, 12 percent to 114,342 units in February. below Honda.
A Reuters poll of economists predicts that US car and light truck sales will fall to 16.80 million units annualized in February down from 17.01 million units last year.
Possible US tariffs threaten demand
Trump has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported cars. If this happens then this will further dampen consumer demand. It is estimated that if there were tariffs imposed they could lessen demand for the full year by up to 700,000 vehicles.
Previously published in the Digital Journal
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