Toyota sales drop 10% in Canada in January

Toyota Motor Corp said Tuesday its Canadian sales fell more than 10% during the month of January compared with last year as a result of a massive recall that prompted the Japanese automaker to halts sales on eight of its most popular models in North America for most of the last week of the month.

Toyota Canada Inc.’s total sales were down 14.8% during the month, excluding a 62% bump in sales during the month for its Lexus division, the company said.

Toyota has recalled 4.3 million vehicles worldwide since Jan. 21 due to a faulty gas pedal that proved a propensity to stick on rare occasions. On Jan. 26, the world’s largest automaker said it would halt the sales of eight of its most popular vehicles across North America and the production of those models this week, including the RAV4, Corolla, and Matrix that it builds in Canada.

That recall adds to the more than 5 million vehicles Toyota had already recalled since November due to its gas pedals getting stuck on floor mats.

As a result, overall sales for the Toyota brand in Canada were 8,246 units in January, down from 9,681 units for the month last year.

Toyota said this week it intends to begin repairing the recalled vehicles as of Friday at its dealerships and modify its production lines, which should allow it to begin selling the affected models again by this weekend, a process that is expected to take more than a month to complete in Canada.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd., said its Canadian sales increased 5.7% during January, with retail sales up 16%.

In the U.S., Ford saw a more substantial sales bump of 24% during the month of January compared with a year ago.

Overall, Ford sold 11,553 units in Canada in January, from 10,933 from the same period last year, with the month marking a 1% year-over-year gain in car sales; a 7% increase in truck sales; and 59% increase in sales for its Lincoln brand across the country.

Nissan Canada Inc.’s sales rose 17% to 4,975 units during he month, including an 18% jump for the Nissan brand and a 9% increase for Infiniti.

Honda Canada Inc. reported a 15% decline of its own in Canada with sales falling to 6,393 for both its Honda and Acura divisions during the month.

Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. reported its best January on record Tuesday, saying it sold 6,084 units in Canada during the month, or a 32% increase over the same period last year.

Kia Canada Inc. also reported a 32% increase in sales to 2,416 units in January.

General Motors and Chrysler are expected to report their sales figures later this afternoon.