Pickup trucks power Canadian auto sales to 177,844 in July

Light trucks powered Canadian auto sales 0.4 per cent higher in July to 177,844 vehicles sold, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

Sales of light trucks last month were up 8.2 per cent to 111,067, while car sales dropped 10 per cent to 66,777.

Car sales traditionally slow somewhat in July, while people are on holiday, but this July's sales maintained the strong pace which has led to record-breaking sales month after month.

Fiat Chrysler sales were ahead 2.2 per cent to 28,611 vehicles sold, leading all the automakers and setting a new July record. There were 9,478 Ram pickups sold in July 2015 with the company saying it has the No. 2 selling truck in Canada.

It also sold 620 Windsor, Ont.-built Chrysler Town & Country minivans, a 38 per cent year-over-year increase.  

Toyota reported 18,344 units sold in July, an increase of 1.7 per cent over 2014 when Scion and Lexus are included. Its light truck sales grew to 9,906 across all brands in July.

Ford of Canada sales slipped 6 per cent to 17,182, despite 14 per cent growth in sales to 2,019 for the Canadian-built Ford Edge. General Motors sales fell 4.8 per cent to 22,826.  

However, in the luxury space there was significant growth in July for Volvo (up 54 per cent), Acura (up 38.6 per cent), and Lexus (up 30.4 per cent). Honda saw sales rise 7.7 per cent from a year ago to 15,696 units.