OTTAWA and RICHMOND HILL, Ontario -

While it was quite clear the double-digit year-over-year gains in Canadian new-vehicle sales spotted during the first two months of 2012 weren’t likely to last the entire year, economist Michael Hatch finds the current rate of growth in Canada fairly sustainable.

Canadian new-vehicle sales are 5.2 percent ahead of last year’s pace, as the market has now moved 519,736 units year-to-date through April, according to data provided by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

“Where we are now, that certainly is a more realistic number for the rest of the year,” explained Hatch. who is the chief economist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, referring to the 5.2-percent growth.

During April alone, there were 157,777 new-vehicle sales in Canada, which was off 1.4 percent from April 2011, according to the DesRosiers data. The strongest driver to that modest dip was the fact that April 2011 sales were so high, Hatch said.

“It’s still historically a very high number for the month of April,” Hatch told Auto Remarketing Canada, also noting that it “underscores very solid demand for new vehicles in Canada.”

Heated Race for No. 1

Continuing the neck-and-neck race atop the Canadian market, the monthly lead in new-vehicle sales once again changed hands last month, according to the DesRosiers data. 

The top-selling automaker in Canada during April was Chrysler, which moved 24,446 units for a 3-percent year-over-year gain and replaced Ford atop the leaderboard.

Ford – which held the lead in March – was an extremely close second, outsold by less than 300 units. The Blue Oval moved 24,161 new vehicles in April, which was down 5.4 percent year-over-year. Chrysler had been the sales leader in February before being supplanted by Ford in March and placing third.

General Motors, meanwhile, came in third for April after selling 21,090 units (down 6.8 percent).

With regards to year-to-date sales, Chrysler remained in the top position, having sold 79,866 units. Again, Ford wasn’t far behind with 79,262 units. GM was third with 70,991 sales.