RICHMOND HILL, Ontario -

Although Canada’s new-vehicle sales dropped almost 4 percent in May — resulting in a rather soft annual sales pace — several automakers enjoyed record months.

Import brands bore the brunt of the decline, falling 6.1 percent year-over-year in May, according to a sales chart provided by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

That said, import companies like BMW Group Canada, Hyundai Canada and Subaru Canada posted their strongest Mays of all time, while Mercedes-Benz Canada, Kia Canada and Volkswagen Canada reported their best-ever sales for any month.

Meanwhile, there were mixed results spotted among the three Detroit automakers.

Overall, light-vehicle sales came in at 149,034 units, which was down 3.8 percent year-over-year, according to the chart’s data from DesRosiers, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.

This translates into a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.396 million units, according to Dennis DesRosiers, president of his namesake company. This compares to a SAAR of 1.63 million in April and 1.67 million in March.

“Ouch. We’ve been saying for a long time that Canada is still a long way from full recovery in the auto sector,” he commented. “This is further evidence.”

Through the first five months of the year, sales have reached 642,976 units, a 1.8-percent improvement over the same period of 2010.

Year-to-date market share for domestics is at 46.6 percent, compared to 45.1 percent at this point in 2010, while imports stand at 53.4 percent, down from 54.9 percent a year ago.

Moving on to look at May’s results in more detail, the Big 3 combined to move 72,041 units for the month, down 1.3 percent from May 2010.

Ford led the way with 25,440 units sold but was off 2.6 percent from the year-ago period. Chrysler was in second place, as its sales improved 13.1 percent to 23,603 units, according to the data provided by DesRosiers.

(Fiat’s sales, which hit 678 units in May, are broken out separately in DesRosiers’ data. Also, the 23,603 unit sum in DesRosiers’ chart does not inlcude heavy-duty Ram trucks, a Chrysler spokesperson told Auto Remarketing Canada). 

GM moved 22,998 units, off 11.5 percent year-over-year, the data indicated.

Meanwhile, import automakers sold 76,993 units in May, a decrease of 6.1 percent from May 2010.

Brands such as Toyota (down 32.9 percent), Lexus (down 30.3 percent) and Acura (down 27.3) saw significant declines, but others posted historically strong months.

VW, for example, improved its sales 25.9 percent to 5,776 units, marking the second straight month the brand has achieved best-ever sales.

Mercedes-Benz Canada announced that its Smart and Mercedes-Benz brands combined to sell 3,554 units in May, which is the company’s best month on record and a 14.3-percent year-over-year improvement.

“Mercedes-Benz Canada’s continued unprecedented growth is directly proportional to the hard work and dedication of every employee in our corporate and private retail network,” said Mercedes-Benz Canada president and chief executive officer Tim Reuss.

“Having visited many dealerships across the country throughout the past few weeks, I can personally attest to their commitment and recognize that these record-breaking sales results could not be achieved without their respective contributions,” he added.

“Our exciting product line-up is the other key factor and catalyst to our overall success. With every new product we’ve introduced, we continue to set new benchmarks and drive innovation to previously unimaginable levels,” Reuss continued. “This powerful combination ensures that the three pointed star is always synonymous with the absolute pinnacle within the premium segment.”

And, interestingly enough, Subaru Canada managed to hit its strongest May on record, even in the midst of the aftermath of the disasters in Japan.
The company sold 2,576 units, up 5.7 percent from a year ago.

“On behalf of everyone at Subaru Canada, I am thrilled with these outstanding results,” shared Shiro Ohta, Subaru Canada’s president and CEO.

“Despite an interruption in vehicle production due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, Subaru was still able to set a new sales record this month. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone at the dealerships and SCI for their continued efforts and dedication,” Ohta added. “We are all very proud to be part of such a strong and resilient brand.”