Meanwhile, the Big Three led the way in Canada last month, with volumes advancing 16 per cent year-over-year — the best performance in more than five years.

"The improvement was powered by gains in excess of 20 per cent at DaimlerChrysler and General Motors," the report says. "In contrast to the United States, the Big Three's share has started to revive in Canada, climbing in February to the highest level in more than two years alongside scaled-up incentives."

Canadian overall vehicle sales rebounded in February, after the previous month's freeze.

"Car and light truck sales posted a double-digit year-over-year gain last month, reversing January's five per cent fall-off. We estimate that purchases climbed to 1.7 million units annualized in February (likely unsustainable), bringing the year-to-date average to 1.5 million units — four per cent above a year earlier."

U.S. passenger vehicle purchases totalled an annualized 16.3 million units in February, slightly lower than expected and roughly in line with January's 16.2 million.

A weaker-than-expected performance by the Big Three accounted for much of the decline. Volumes advanced eight per cent year-over-year at Chrysler, but slumped 13 per cent at General Motors and three per cent at Ford.

The Big Three's U.S. market share fell to 60.1 per cent last year from 61.8 per cent in 2003 and 70 per cent as recently as 1998.

According to the Scotiabank report, Big Three sales in the United States have been weakest for large SUVs and pickups, the most profitable segments. The slowdown partly reflects record oil prices.

"Consumers have also been shifting to popular new crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) and small pickup trucks introduced by Japanese automakers," says Carlos Gomes, Scotiabank's auto industry specialist.