Car and truck sales in Canada fell 17.4% last month compared with January 2020 hampered by lockdowns and shortages.

Consultants estimate that car and truck sales last month fell 17.4 per cent compared with January 2020, after COVID-19 lockdowns and inventory shortages hampered sales.

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants says that 90,890 cars and trucks were sold in January, down from the 109,988 sold in the same month last year, as much of the country faced restrictions related to the pandemic.

The consultants say the drop in vehicle sales last month is a significant change from January 2020, which was the fourth best January on record for Canada auto sales.

DesRosiers managing partner Andrew King says it was no surprise that auto sales declined in January, since the industry has also been working through supply chain disruptions over the past month.

A separate report from on U.S. vehicle sales from TD Economics says that a shortage of microchips has temporarily halted production at multiple North American car and truck plants.

General Motors says its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., located about 30 kilometres east of London, will be idle for a week because of the computer-chip shortage. Local union workers have been informed of a temporary layoff at the plant from Feb. 8 to 13, and GM says about 1,500 affected hourly employees will be eligible for layoff benefits.

GM says it hopes to make up for the downtime at the plant. The company announced last month it would spend $1 billion revamping to produce electric commercial delivery vans.