Canada: Good News for Auto Sales in January 2007

Canada may not be a very big market for the auto industry but auto makers love Canada as it is a rich country and most people have enough money to spend on their cars. It seems that the auto sales was good in January 2007 in Canada. Just like the US, Asian companies are doing well in Canada.

Canada.com reported:

While Canadian auto sales are a reflection of the national economy, it is U.S. sales that ultimately determine employment levels in Ontario's high-employment automotive assembly sector.

Ford and GM sales plunged in the U.S. mainly because they are backing out of low-profit fleet sales, which they have used in the past to pad sales figures and keep their plants running.

Chrysler sales chief Steven Landry said his company intends to pursue the same strategy, but he declined to give details.

Ford sales were up fractionally in its Canadian showrooms, by 0.1 per cent. GM's Canadian sales slipped by 1.6 per cent.

Toyota performed well in Canadian market too:

Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) said Toyota and Lexus sold 10,168 units combined in January, up 9.3 per cent from last year. TCI car sales were up 3.9 per cent while truck sales rose 22.4 per cent.

Both Toyota and its Lexus luxury division set new sales records for the month of January.

"Toyota's record-setting momentum is propelled by strong demand across the lineup," said Tony Wearing, managing director of TCI.

I do not know why Canada does not encourage its companies to invest in the auto industry. I mean there is no famous Canadian carmaker.