Canadian auto sales climb 5.7% in April

Canadian light vehicle sales jumped 5.7 per cent in April compared to a year earlier, with GM leading the pack.

According to auto analyst Dennis DesRosier, Canadians bought 189,072 cars and light trucks in April, a record for the month.

Better weather drew Canadian consumers to the dealership, despite a gloomy economic outlook and low oil prices that could see people losing their jobs in the oil-producing provinces.

Premium vehicles, such as MINI, Porsche, BMW, Lexus and Volvo enjoyed a sales bump.

General Motors led the auto marketin Canada for the month, boosting its sales ofcars and light trucks by15 per cent from the previous year to 29,127 vehicles,

FCA Canada Inc. (formerly Chrysler Canada) also saw a boost in Canadian sales, which were up one per cent on the year to 27,473 vehicles.

This time last year, GM was in the doghouse with consumers after recalling millions of vehicles with a dangerous ignition switch flaw.

This year it says it is a sales leader in pickup trucks with a range of vehicles from the mid-sized Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon to the full-size and heavy-duty, ChevroletSilveradoand GMC Sierra.

Lighttrucks still dominatethe market with a total of 109,814 light trucks sold, an 8.5 per cent increase on the year.

ButChrysler saw a 51 per cent rise in passenger cars, led by the mid-sized Chrysler 200. The Brampton-built Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger also marked strong sales increases.

Its biggest performer was its Jeep brand vehicles, up 22 per cent to 7,486 units sold.

Ford sold 27,307 vehicles, its sales slipping slightly from the same month last year.The Canadian-built Ford Edge experiencing a 65 per cent sales increase and the Ford Escape was upby four per cent, according to a Ford press release.

Toyota sales were down 2.8 per cent at 18,495 for the month, while Honda sales rose 5.6 per cent to 14,447.

Volkswagen also had a good April, selling 7,358 autos, a 13.8 per cent improvement.

General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Nissan all reported U.S. sales gains last month as Americans continued tochoose small and midsize SUVs and pickup trucks over cars.