Ford Sales are Up, GM and DaimlerChrysler Down
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| The Navigator dominated Ford's Sales charts, up by 306%. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Despite the today's global uncertainties the Canadian auto industry is managing quite well, and in some cases even breaking sales records. American, German and Japanese car companies made March 2003 a landmark month in regards to sales. However, not all companies prospered to the same levels. Still, by and large, the war on Iraq and escalating fuel prices are not standing in the way of consumers purchasing vehicles.
In Canada, over 24,386 new Ford and Lincoln vehicles were purchased; a 0.3 % increase from March 2002. Truck sales rose by 5.0 %, and a whopping 37.8% increase was experienced in their SUV divisions. Lincoln's sales skyrocketed by an increase of 53.2% compared to last month. The Navigator dominated Ford's Sales charts, up by 306% and then the Town car up by 51.8%.
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| Chrysler's new Pacifica will help boost sales in coming months. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
DaimlerChrysler also experienced positive sales increases in cars at least. Up by 11%, the domestic automaker sold 6,029 passenger cars in March compared to last year's 5,421. Leading the pack in percentage increase was the Chrysler Sebring Convertible, up 61.4% over March 2002. The Sebring sedan, at 2,013 units was strong increasing by 13.1% while the 300M and Intrepid models were both up by 11.3 and 16.3% respectively. Overall sales, however, fell by 13% from 22,689 units to 19,697.
How's that compared to the world's largest automaker? GM's Canadian sales only fell by 3% in March, with 42,427 vehicles sold compared to 43,735 a year earlier. Factor in its year-to-date sales, however, and the General is down by 15% over last year. That's the worst performance among the Big Three domestic automakers.