The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that February auto sales hit an all-time high for the month after jumping 24.4 per cent from last year, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said Monday. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that sales totalled an "astounding" 129,000 units for the month, the consultancy said, up from around 104,000 for the same month last year. The sales total also eclipsed the 125,000 units sold just before the pandemic in February, 2020. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.1 million units for the unseasonably warm month was the highest since January, 2018, DesRosiers said. The latest sales figures, marking the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year growth, shows that many of the challenges faced by the industry are now under control. A Bank of Nova Scotia report estimates that North American production should hit 16 million units this year, roughly in line with the 10-year prepandemic average. Last year's production was estimated at 15.6 million units, while the 2021 low was 12.9 million. However, while production is recovering, prices are still elevated. The average price of a new vehicle hit $67,259 in December, up 14.2 per cent from a year earlier.