Ford Canada reported overall vehicles sales of 304,618 units in 2016, a 9 percent gain that marked its best year of sales since 1989 -- and making Ford the No. 1 automaker in Canada for the year.
It also was the eighth consecutive year Ford was Canada’s top-selling automotive brand.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which won its first Canada sales crown in 2015, said its 2016 sales fell 4 percent to 278,729 units. Its December sales dropped 11 percent to 18,870 vehicles.
General Motors said its Canada sales gained 1.5 percent to 267,341 vehicles during the year. It sold 18,129 vehicles in December, but a comparison figure for last year was not immediately available.
Overall, a record 1.948 million new vehicles were sold in Canada in 2016, about 50,000 more than were sold during the previous year. It’s a gain of 2.7 percent over 2015, which was itself a record year.
Early in 2016, analysts predicted total Canadian sales would top two million units, but outlooks were adjusted after a downturn in the fall.
The sales performance of SUVs, pickups and luxury vehicles helped establish the record.
Other automakers were still reporting their Canada results Wednesday afternoon.
Ford F-series was the best-selling pickup in Canada for the 51st consecutive year, and was the best-selling vehicle in Canada for the seventh year in a row, the automaker said in a statement.
Ford sold 17,115 total trucks in December, up 3.9 percent from the year before, and 257,660 total trucks for the year, up 15.1 percent over 2015.
The automaker also saw growth across its utility vehicle lineup with an overall total sales increase of 6 per cent. The Canadian-built Ford Edge posted a sales increase of 109 percent in December and a total year sales increase of 24 percent.
Lincoln closed the year with an overall sales increase of 5 per cent and posted total sales growth for the third consecutive year.
Ford didn’t immediately release the total number of units sold for each of its Ford and Lincoln models.
Meanwhile, FCA's total Ram sales increased 10 percent in December 2016, raising the truck brand's annual sales total to 89,666 -- virtually flat when compared to 2015.
Jeep's total sales rose 4 percent in 2016 to 83,086 units, led by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which had a 30 percent annual sales increase.
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