Canada’s auto industry to report second-quarter sales gains

The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) said Wednesday that Canada’s industry experienced an uptick in the second quarter of 2017, as sales climbed 5.3% from the same period in 2016.

NADA President and CEO Brian Strahl told a news conference that the company expects the industry to post a 7.6% increase in the current quarter.

Nada had predicted an 8.5% increase.

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) said its annual survey of 2,000 auto industry professionals will be released on Thursday.

The CAA has said the first quarter was the best quarter of its recent history, with the industry seeing strong demand and sales that surpassed expectations.

Strahler said that while he was pleased with the results, he was concerned with the continued lack of progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the industry.

Stravall said the industry is “still dealing with a number of things, but we’re in a good place, and we’re working hard.”

Stravalls remarks were echoed by Canadian Automotive Association president and CEO Jim Ritchie, who said the government’s plan to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2022 and phase out gas plants by 2025 is encouraging, but it does not address the biggest environmental threat to the industry, methane leakage.

Ritchie said the CAA wants to see a commitment from Ottawa to do more to help provinces and territories, which are currently responsible for the lion’s share of emissions, with their climate-related mitigation plans.

“We’re all looking for more, and that’s really the biggest part of it,” he said.

“The biggest challenge for the industry today is not climate change, but our emissions.”