March auto sales rise 1.9%, but sales pace moderates

March auto sales in Canada rose 1.9 per cent to 160,274 cars and light trucks, according to the latest figures from DesRosiers Automotive.

Auto sales rose year-over-year in March at FCA Canada, Volkswagen and Nissan, but fell at Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Honda.

While improving consumer confidence has buoyed auto sales for the past 18 months, there are signs of cooling in March, perhaps related to a downturn in the economy.

But consultant Dennis DesRosiers said in his commentary that Alberta sales, where lower oil prices are depressing demand, haven't yet dragged down the market.

How well sales do in the rest of the year depends on exchange rates, because so much product is made in the U.S., he said.

Exchange rate impact

"All the other fundamentals are positive – the amount of vehicles being driven, the population growth, the condition of vehicles on the road. The one big negative is the impact of a strong U.S. dollar and it's really hard to know how that will play out," he said.

FCA Canada (formerly Chrysler Canada Inc.) reported a two per cent rise in Canadian sales to 25,060 cars and trucks.

Ram pickup truck sales were particularly strong with 8,749 sold in March 2015, compared with 7,544 trucks in March 2014, a 16 per cent increase.

Volkswagen had a stellar month, with sales up 62 per cent to 6,950 as the Golf and GTI caught on at dealership.

Nissan announced total Canadian sales for March 2015 of 11,181 units, an increase of 6.8 per cent from the previous year.

Sales drop at Toyota, GM

But Toyota sales weakened, falling 5.1 per cent to 15,003 cars and trucks, on a drop in car sales. Pickup sales remained strong, up 7.4 per cent to 8,267.

GM saw the same shift to trucks and crossovers, selling 13 per cent more trucks despite an overall decline in vehicles sold. GM sold a total of 21,027 vehicles in March 2015, a decrease of 3.5 per cent from March 2014.

Ford sales fell 4.6 per cent to 21,380, knocking it out of the top spot among Canadian automakers. Ford said shortage of inventory for Edge and Escape hurt its results, but its F-series trucks saw a six per cent rise in sales.

Honda Canada's Honda and Acura units sold a combined 14,749 vehicles, a four per cent decrease since last year.

"Traffic to our Canadian dealer network was below what we would expect in March. This was particularly evident in the Atlantic provinces, as the impact of extreme weather set new car buying as a low priority for people, as one would expect," said Dave Gardner, senior vice president of operations, Honda Canada Inc.