Sales of 169,459 new vehicles in Canada in June were up just 2.7 per cent from the same month last year, but that figure alone grossly understates the sales momentum in the current market.
This is a case where a year-over-year comparison tells only part of the story as June 2011 was itself a very strong month, with a SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate) of about 1.63 million – the highest all last year.
June 2012 sales were up not only from last year but by 7.7 per cent compared to their five-year average. The SAAR for the month was above 1.7 million (per DesRosiers Automotive Consultants) – the fourth month out of six to reach that range.
Year-to-date sales of 864,911 vehicles are up 7.1 per cent from this point last year and 6.5 per cent from their five-year average, which puts them at their highest mid-year level since 2008.
Ford remains out front
Ford’s sales were down 8.7 per cent from June 2011, but the company still outsold all other automakers for the month and remains in first place year-to-date, now well clear of Chrysler, which held that position for the first four months of the year.
Ford’s year-to-date sales are up 1.3 per cent from last year and 16.1 per cent from their five-year average – but the company has lost 0.94 per cent of share from this time last year.
Chrysler (+0.5% for the month and 7.1% YTD) held onto second place, now far ahead of General Motors (-18.0% for the month and -6.2% YTD. Chrysler’s market share is exactly what it was a year ago but GM has lost 1.91 per cent of share.
Toyota and Honda are hot
Solidly in fourth-place Toyota (+68.2% for the month and 25.5 % YTD) is currently the hottest brand in the market, having regained 1.54 per cent in market share from this point last year, although it hasn’t improved its position from last month.
Honda (+42.6% for the month and 25.5 % YTD) made another big improvement but still lagged behind Hyundai (+2.4% and 4.3%) in the fight for fourth place, both for the month and year-to-date. Honda has, however, regained 0.99 per cent of share from this time last year, while Hyundai has dropped 0.22 per cent of market share.
In spite of their huge improvements, Both Honda’s and Toyota’s year-to-date sales are still behind their five-year averages – by 1.3 and 1.2 per cent respectively.
Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, almost all brands showed year-over-year improvements in June, with many achieving best-ever results. The exceptions, in addition to GM (-18.0%), were BMW (-6.4%),Jaguar (-15.5%) and Volvo (-22.8%).
The biggest gainers for the month, in addition Toyota (+68.2%) and Honda (+42.6%), were Lexus (+48.4%), Acura (+33.3%), Land Rover (+32.2%) and Infiniti (+24.5.)
Import brands continue to gain
Once again, import brand sales (+15.6%) improved at the expense of the Detroit Three (-9.2%). Year-to-date, the imports claim 55.1 per cent of the market to the D3’s 44.9 per cent – a 2.9-per cent swing either way from this time last year.
In a reversal of the recent norm, truck sales (+2.9%) improved more strongly than those of passenger car (+2.7%) in June. Year-to-date, trucks account for 53.7 per cent of the market while cars claim 46.3 per cent – a 1.6-per cent swing in favour of cars from a year ago.
