New motor vehicle sales dive in Canada

Sales of new motor vehicles in Canada plunged 14.8 percent in December to 109,831 units, the largest drop since January 1998, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The decline is in line with the global economic recession and rising unemployment rate in Canada, which climbed to 7.2 percent in January, the agency said. In contrast, the 1998 drop was attributed to an ice storm that all but shut down much of the eastern part of the country.

Sales of new minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses fell 20.4 percent to 50,997 units in December.

Sales of new passenger cars declined 9.2 percent to 58,834 units in December. The greatest fall was in North American-built cars, which dropped 14.8 percent, StatsCan said.

The decline in sales affected all 10 provinces and three territories, with British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan each recording decreases of more than 15 percent, the report said.