TORONTO - In another sign of the poor health of the North American auto industry, the Detroit Three automakers' sales per dealer in Canada declined drastically in 2008, according to an industry consultant.

Toyota Canada, meanwhile, increased sales per dealer by more than 10 per cent over 2007's rate, according to DesRosiers Automotive Reports.

"I've always thought that one of the more important metrics in the industry is new vehicles sales per dealer, since in many respects it defines the health of the dealer body," industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers said in a note.

"And a healthy dealer body can go a long way to sustain an OEM (auto manufacturer) while they get their products lined up or fix their own long list of issues."

General Motors' sales per dealer declined by 10.3 per cent, one of the fastest rates in the industry. The struggling automaker sold an average of 497 cars per dealer in 2008, 51 fewer than in 2007, but still ahead of the other Detroit-based automakers..

Chrysler and Ford saw their sales per dealer shrink, by 5.3 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, DesRosiers says.

Chrysler sold an average of 488 cars per dealer, down by 26 from a year earlier, while Ford sold an average of 475, down by 24 from 2007.

This put GM in seventh place, Chrysler in eighth and Ford in tenth in DesRosiers' ranking of sales per dealer.

Toyota was first, with 875 vehicles sold per dealer, an increase of 89 vehicles or 10.2 per cent from 2007.

"A good part of that success is their lineup of products but hidden below the surface is a very capable dealer body," DesRosiers said. "For the first time ever, a vehicle company has sold more than 800 vehicles per store in Canada in 2008."

Honda-branded dealers were No. 2 on the DesRosiers list, although sales per dealer fell to 678, a decline of 129 from 2007. The rest of the Top 10 were dealers for BMW, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus.

DesRosiers added that the Japanese philosophy of "fewer but stronger dealers" seems to be working, and he expects the Detroit Three will shed 50 dealerships in 2009 in an attempt to follow suit.

The Detroit Three, particularly GM and Chrysler, have been struggling to stay afloat amid slumping sales and tight credit markets. Governments in the U.S. and Canada recently agreed to provide billions in emergency loans to the beleaguered automakers.