New vehicle sales fell in August as consumers pulled back on purchases of passenger cars, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
Sales declined 0.3 percent to 126,401 units during the month, the federal agency said, after rising by a revised 5.2 per cent in July.
Most economists had expected sales to be flat in August.
''Sales of new motor vehicles have generally been rising since the beginning of 2009, following a sharp decline at the end of 2008,'' Statistics Canada said. ''On a year-over-year basis, sales in August were 6.6 per cent lower than in August 2008.''
Declines were reported in six provinces, with the biggest drop coming in Saskatchewan.
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