Based on the figures released this month, Canadian new car and light truck sales, look set to hit near record numbers by the end of the year. Ford Motor Company posted the strongest sales for the month, revealing 19,431 deliveries, followed by General Motors at 17,372 and Chrysler/Fiat at 16,880.
Ford says that November’s numbers (which represent a 7.4 per cent year over year increase) were driven by a healthy 14 per cent jump in passenger car sales and a boost of 6 per cent in light truck demand.
Although GM finished with the second highest number in terms of volume for the month, it has shown a 3.2 per cent decline year over year. Chrysler, although coming in third for November, retained the number two spot in terms of year to date sales, giving it a 14.5 per cent market share (Ford and GM currently boast 16.5 and 13.5 per cent respectively).
Perhaps the biggest winners were imported brands, Hyundai and Kia both showed year-over-year gains (20 and 17.8 per cent respectively), despite controversy over fuel economy claims in recent months, while Porsche witnessed a whopping 164 per cent gain.
In response to the numbers, Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, said that “a solid December is widely expected, and Canada has a chance at breaching the 1.7 million unit mark, potentially making 2012 one of the best-ever years for new vehicle sales in this country. We suspect that the market will come in just shy of record levels, but second best on record is very likely.” The previous record for auto sales in Canada was set in 2002, when the industry delivered a total of 1.73 million vehicles for the year.
