(Toronto) Motor vehicle sales in Canada fell 13.3% in April from the same month a year earlier, when semiconductor shortages began to significantly hamper sales, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said Wednesday. .
Posted yesterday at 1:28 p.m.
According to the specialized firm, 140,785 new light vehicles were sold in April, barely more than the 140,460 sold in March.
Annualized and seasonally adjusted, April sales were 1.44 million, DesRosiers calculated, after hitting 1.66 million in April 2021, the month when sales fell for the first time from to adjusted March sales of 1.92 million vehicles, before supply shortages hit.
Supply issues have dominated the market for the past year, noted Andrew King, managing partner of DesRosiers, and there are few signs of short-term improvement.
The auto industry is grappling with computer chip shortages caused by a combination of manufacturing disruptions from the pandemic and increased demand for chips in other industries.
Going back even further, April 2019 sales were around 185,000 vehicles after more than a year of declining sales due to lower demand.