(Toronto) Motor vehicle sales in Canada fell 8.5% in May, compared to the same month of the previous year, due to persistent supply problems, the specialized firm DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said on Thursday.
Posted at 1:04 p.m.
The consultancy estimates that 140,725 new light vehicles were sold during the month, which was in line with sales recorded in the previous two months.
May is traditionally the best month of the year for sales, but supply issues, related in part to shortages of semiconductor chips, continue to limit the recovery.
By May 2019, by comparison, more than 202,000 light vehicles had been sold.
DesRosiers reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for the month of May was 1.36 million units.
Andrew King, managing partner of DesRosiers, noted with concern that the rate has continued to decline every month since the start of the year — it was 1.67 million units in January — signaling that the market supply seems to be getting worse.