Canadian-Market Sales Slump Continues for Asian Auto Makers

Asia-based auto makers saw their August sales slip 8.4% in Canada compared with like-2010, their fourth consecutive year-over-year shortfall, according to WardsAuto data.

Honda Civic, second among best-selling cars in 2010, sixth in August.

The negative performance offset gains by domestic and European auto makers, culminating in a 1.2% dip in total light-vehicle deliveries.

Related document: Ward’s Canada Light-Vehicle Sales by Brand and Company August – 2011

The 13 Asian brands on sale in Canada accounted for a 42% share of the market, down from prior-year’s 45.3%, as only Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota were in the black. And Mitsubishi was resoundingly so with a 24.8% boost on 1,666 deliveries.

Among the volume players, Japan-based Honda fared worst. Its Acura luxury marque suffered a 4.1% slide while the core brand’s sales plunged 32.5%.

Deliveries of domestically produced Honda Civics plummeted 43.2% to 3,040, further evidence of unresolved supply-chain woes stemming from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that struck the auto maker’s homeland.

The Civic, which finished second among Canada’s best-selling cars last year, ranked sixth in August.

Toyota’s 4.6% August gain halted a string of three consecutive year-over-year declines. Camry demand gets most of the credit. Its 1,632-unit tally was more than two-and-a-half times the car’s prior-year delivery count of 617.

North American auto makers captured 49.5% of the market, up from 46.7% in like-2010, largely on Chrysler’s 11.9% gain. Credit the auto maker’s 96% jump in car sales, led by the Chrysler 200’s 510 deliveries.

Ford, the market’s volume leader for the month with 23,369 deliveries, saw its sales nudge up 2.2%, as did General Motors.

Volkswagen’s 22.6% hike in deliveries sparked a 0.5-point share gain by European auto makers. Not only were the Jetta’s 2,176 sales nearly double its like-2010 tally, the redesigned-for-’11 car accounted for almost half of the brand’s total sales.

Porsche, with its 25.4% gain, was August’s biggest winner. Suzuki was the biggest loser with a 57.5% nose-dive.

Through August, Canada’s total light-vehicle sales were tracking 1.6% over like-2010.

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