Canadian new vehicle sales dip in July

OTTAWA, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Sales of new motor vehicles in Canada declined 0.8 percent to 141,818 units in July, the Statistics Canada agency reported Monday from Ottawa.

Of all types of vehicles, sales of overseas-built passenger cars, which account for about 36 percent of new passenger car sales, were down 7.1 percent in July, the report said. Overseas-built passenger cars had been posting strong monthly gains since 2007, StatsCan said.

Sales of North American-built passenger cars were relatively unchanged and overall passenger car sales decreased 2.9 percent to 77,122 units in July.

Sales of new minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses rose 1.8 percent to 64,696 units in July, the report said.

The agency also said preliminary data for August was suggesting a similar decline in new motor vehicle sales as in July.