(RTTNews) - Canadian new motor vehicle sales leveled off in August, following strong gains in July, according to data released by Statistics Canada Wednesday morning.

Sales of autos fresh from the factory fell 0.3% to 126,401 units in August as sales of passenger cars slipped.

Sales of North American-built passenger cars decreased 9.3%, partially offsetting the large increase in July. The number of overseas-built passenger cars sold rose by 11.0%, offsetting the declines of the previous three months.

Sales of new motor vehicles have generally been rising since the beginning of 2009, following a sharp decline at the end of 2008. New vehicle sales rose a robust 5.2% in July.

However, on a year-over-year basis, sales in August were 6.6% lower than in August 2008.

The agency noted that preliminary industry data indicate the number of new motor vehicles sold was relatively unchanged in September.

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