RICHMOND HILL, Ontario -

New-car dealers enjoyed double-digit year-over-year retail sales growth in the first quarter, and dealers in the used-car, recreational motor vehicle and parts subsectors climbed an average of 7.6 percent, according to Statistics Canada information cited by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

However, that momentum wasn't nearly as strong in the following months.

The market slowed for both categories in the second quarter, with average retail sales growth for new-car dealers coming in at 5.5 percent, versus an 11.0-percent uptick in the first quarter. Meanwhile, used/RV/parts growth slowed to an average of 2.9 percent in the second quarter. That said, overall first-half sales in both sectors outpaced those from the same period of 2011.

(The auto sector analysis also includes gasoline stations, which saw somewhat similar patterns as those found among dealers.)

“Between January and June, Canadian new-car dealers showed sales growth of 8.2 percent relative to the same period in 2011,” the analysis from the firm indicated. “Amassing year-to-date sales of $42.5 billion during the first half of this year, more money has flowed through dealers in 2012 than in the corresponding months of any of the previous five years.”

Regarding used-vehicle/RV/parts dealers, DAC stated: “The total value of retail sales in these subsectors also outpaced previous years’ results, with first-half sales breaching $10.0 billion.”

Lastly, the analysis said significant slowdown in growth was spotted among gasoline stations in the second quarter.

Specifically, first-quarter growth was 5 percent, followed by 1.6-percent growth in the second quarter.

"With a year-to-date sales increase of 3.3 percent, gasoline station retail sales growth is on track for an annual growth rate below that seen in either of the past two years," analysts noted.