TORONTO — December proved to be a big month for two of Canada’s leading automakers, with Ford of Canada reporting sales up more than 25 per cent and Toyota Canada claiming its best-ever sales for the period.
Nissan also reported a solid month, with sales up 15 per cent compared with December 2008.
Ford said it sold 17,930 vehicles in December 2009, up from 14,290 in the same month in 2008. Overall sales for 2009 totalled 225,216 vehicles, up 6.7 per cent from the 211,060 it sold the previous year.
The Oakville, Ont.,-based automaker said the figures make Ford the best-selling brand in Canada and added that its F-Series pickup truck had reclaimed its title as the best-selling vehicle in Canada.
Toyota, citing what it called preliminary year-end results, said it sold 16,366 vehicles during the month, representing its best-ever December sales figures in Canada.
It put yearly sales at “approximately” 205,028 vehicles, its second-best yearly total.
The 2009 figures included 189,226 vehicles sold under the Toyota banner and 15,802 by its luxury Lexus division.
Nissan Canada Inc. said its Nissan and Infiniti brands sold 5,141 vehicles in December en route to yearly combined sales of 79,018 units.
The 2009 total, although down almost five per cent from its record-breaking 2008 results, still represented the second-best year ever for Nissan.
Ford said its results not only showed a continued growth in market share, but also the company’s seventh consecutive month of retail sales gain.
“Canadian consumers showed confidence in the Ford brand and recognized the quality and value in our lineup,” president and CEO David Mondragon said in a news release.
“We grew our sales despite a down industry, powered by the freshest showroom in the country,” he said, noting that Ford had more product launches than any other automaker in 2009.
“The industry continues to show signs of strength and we see a modest recovery coming in 2010,” Mondragon added.