Loonie has Canucks eyeing U.S. for cars
by: GREG KEENAN
AUTO INDUSTRY REPORTER
July 10, 2007
The surging dollar has sent a record number of Canadians looking for a new or used car bargain south of the border, says the North American Automobile Trade Association.
Canadians imported 112,826 vehicles from the U.S. last year, the first time more than 100,000 vehicles came north and a 50-per-cent increase on the number brought into Canada in 2005 - a dramatic reversal of what happened just five years ago when the dollar was hitting record lows. The dollar closed yesterday at 95.27 cents (U.S.), a slight decline from Friday’s 30-year high of 95.33 cents.
In 2002, Americans imported 211,797 Canadian-purchased vehicles. That number plunged to just 9,496 last year.
“A lot of people are starting to realize the savings that are out there,” said Stephen Bulyovsky, co-owner of Canadian Auto Associates Ltd. in Guelph, Ont., which buys mainly used U.S. vehicles.
“New vehicles? Buying them in the U.S. is getting a little bit trickier,” Mr. Bulyovsky said yesterday.
Vehicles from the luxury Lexus line of Toyota Motor Corp. are popular, he said, as are those from Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion brand, which the auto maker does not sell in Canada.
Cross-border shopping for new vehicles is a huge can of worms for auto makers…
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