Canada Sales Rebound

October light-vehicle sales in Canada crept up 5.9% compared with like-2010, ending a 3-month streak of year-over-year declines.

As in the U.S., European auto makers shone brightest, on a percentage basis, with a 12.2% gain on 12,819 deliveries.

Strong 300 demand contributed to 174.4% Chrysler car-sales gain.

North American OEMs were close behind with a 9.5% jump, while Asian auto makers – hampered by poor results from Nissan and Honda – barely edged into positive sales territory with a 1.5% bump.

Nissan and Honda suffered setbacks of 10.7% and 9.1%, respectively, compared with prior-year.

Among the top seven volume players, Chrysler was the industry’s pace-setter, on a percentage basis, with a 16.9% October increase. The auto maker benefited greatly from a favorable comparison on the car side.

Deliveries of the midsize Chrysler 200 and the Fiat 500 minicar, both incremental to Chrysler’s ’11 car lineup, combined with a demand surge for the fullsize Chrysler 300, its Dodge Charger platform-mate and the 200’s Dodge cousin, the Avenger. The resulting 2,348-unit car-sales total generated a 174.4% gain over prior-year’s dismal 840.

Industry runner-up Hyundai relied heavily on car sales for its total 16.6% gain in October.

The auto maker recorded 10,242 light-vehicle deliveries, of which 70% were cars. And the new-for-’11 C-segment Elantra compact accounted for more than half of those.

In sharp contrast to its 16.4% dip in light-truck sales, Hyundai’s car deliveries soared 40.3% in the month to 7,172, second only to resurgent Toyota’s 7,680.

Toyota used a 7.1% jump in October to bounce back from September’s 5.2% year-over-year shortfall of 5.2%.

Volume-leader General Motors delivered 19,542 light vehicles for a 13.4% climb. Ford’s second-place total of 18,765 light-vehicle sales were flat, compared with like-2010, as its truck deliveries ticked up 2.8% to offset a 3.0% dip on the car side.

Ford’s lackluster October car sales suggest struggles to provide adequate inventory of its highly acclaimed Focus compact, which was redesigned for ’12. Focus deliveries totaled 1,607 for the month, a 16.4% boost from like-2010, but a significant decline from prior-month’s 2,298.

Meanwhile, light-truck deliveries dominated the market.

Canadians purchased 73,258 light trucks in the month, an 11.3% gain from prior-year, while car sales were flat with 52,009 deliveries.

Through October, Canadian light-vehicle sales totaled 586,058, lagging like-2010 by 2.2%.

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