Ford vehicles sit on a production line at an assembly plant in Oakville, Ont.Chris Young/The Globe and Mail
Vehicle sales appeared to cool off slightly in Canada last month from the torrid pace they have maintained in 2017, but are still poised to surpass two million for the first time.
Auto makers reported sales in November that were about flat with those of a year earlier. Sales for the first 11 months of the year were set to hit about 1.91 million, leaving car companies to sell less than 100,000 vehicles in December in order to reach two million for the year.
The lowest total for December since 2010 was 109,000 in December, 2012, so hitting two million is almost certain, said industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.
The November gains came from Asia and Europe-based auto makers, whose sales rose 6 per cent from November, 2016. That 6 per cent excludes figures from Nissan Canada Inc., which did not report its November, 2017, sales results Friday.
Overall sales hit 1.982 million last year, so barring a complete collapse in December deliveries, the industry will report a record total for 2017 – the fifth consecutive record.
Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. and General Motors of Canada Co. reported declines last month of 3 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, from year-earlier levels.
Among offshore-based companies makers, Volvo Car Canada Ltd., led the way with a 61-per-cent sales surge.
Mr. DesRosiers noted that while vehicle manufacturing in Canada is down this year, four years in a row of record sales have led to hiring sprees and major investments by auto dealers.
"We often forget that there's 160,000 to 170,000 jobs at the dealership level," he said. "That's pretty positive for the economy."
U.S. analysts said sales in that country in November were buoyed by Black Friday deals.
General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV reported that November sales fell, while Ford Motor Co. said deliveries rose 7 per cent.