May's new vehicle sales edge up in Canada

OTTAWA, July 14 (UPI) -- New vehicle sales in Canada rose overall by 1 percent in May, with a jump in truck sales, but a decline in passenger cars, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

New vehicle sales totaled 121,348 units, 61392 of which were trucks, including minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses, the agency said.

"Sales of North American-built passenger cars rose 1.4 percent from April, when sales were at their lowest level since October 1982," StatsCan said. "Sales of overseas-built passenger cars fell 2.4 percent in May, which did not offset the sales gain of 3.6 percent in April."

Regionally, higher sales were recorded in seven provinces in May, led by Nova Scotia with an 8.5 percent increase, but led in volume by Ontario, the report said.

Looking forward, the report said preliminary industry data is leaning toward an overall 1 percent decline in June.