Canadian car sales in February were up 3.2% from February 2016, at 123,032 units. In February, SUV and pickup sales of 84,865 units were up 5.7%, while passenger car sales, at 38,167 units, were down 2.1% compared to last year.
Of the Detroit Big 3, GM was up 5.1% and Ford was up 3.1%, and FCA was up 1.6% from last February.
Most Japanese automakers had a strong February, with Honda brand up 21.7%, Nissan brand up 6.5%, Mazda up 15.0%, and Subaru up 16.6% year-over-year. However, Toyota brand was down 8.7% and Mitsubishi was down 14.7%.
Hyundai monthly sales were down 12.7%, and Kia sales were down 8.7% from February 2016.
Among German companies, Mercedes sales were up 22.5% and BMW brand was up 1.3%. VW brand sales were down 8.9% compared to the previous year, though Audi brand sales were up 27.8%.
Combined sales for the Big 3 were up 3.2%, while all foreign nameplates combined were up 3.2% in unit sales over February 2016.
(DesRosiers report from March 1, 2017)