Ford tops Canadian car and light truck sales

TORONTO - Ford (NYSE:F) is claiming top spot in Canadian auto and light truck sales for the first time in decades.

Ford Canada says it sold 27,408 vehicles in June, a 24.6 per cent increase over the same month of 2008.

That put it more than 5,000 units ahead of perennial market leader General Motors (NYSE:GM), which sold 22,334 units in Canada last month despite its parent's Chapter 11 filing in the United States.

That put GM Canada's June sales 31 per cent below where they were a year ago.

Canadian auto sales numbers are coming out a day after their U.S. counterparts reported Wednesday that almost all of the automakers, except Honda, had sales declines last month compared with the same time last year.

Honda Canada didn't fare so well. Overall sales fell by 17 per cent from last year, with a 20 per cent decline at the Honda division more than offsetting a smaller increase at the Acura luxury division.