08:38 AM EDT, 10/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Canadian new vehicle sales slipped 3.6% year over year in September, as three fewer selling days than last year proved too big of a hurdle to clear for consumers, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

However, the seasonally adjusted figure held up better at roughly 1.8 million units annualized and year-to-date sales remain up a healthy 8.1%, noted the bank.

Meantime, United States purchases rose 2.5% year over year to 16.1 million units annualized, which was better than expected and is the second highest print of the year, pointed out BMO. Compared with 2023, the US new vehicle market is up a much slimmer 0.7% year-to-date.

September's calendar quirks were expected to weigh on sales volumes -- and they did -- but it appears that US consumers weren't as inhibited with fewer days to buy as their more debt

-constrained counterparts in Canada, stated the bank.

However, both markets are facing headwinds from still-elevated transaction prices and high financing costs, it added.

Better incentives are cushioning some of the blow, but it could take some time for policy rate cuts to translate into lower auto lending rates, according to BMO.