With three-quarters of the year down, new vehicle sales in Canada continue their record pace, boding well for a third all-time record year in a row.
Sales of 174,337 new vehicles in September were up 3.7 per cent from the same month last year — the biggest year-over-year monthly increase since April and the seventh record month this year. That boost bumped the year-to-date count to 2.5 per cent and almost 30,000 units more than for the same time last year.
Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) said that sales in the final quarter last year were extremely strong so there are some tough comparables to beat. He remains “cautiously optimistic.”
Fuelling that optimism, the seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate (SAAR) for September exceeded two million for the first time since last October, according to DAC.
“The market seems indefatigable given that we continue to see record sales in the face of economic data that might suggest otherwise,” said David Adams, president of the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC). “Consumers continued to take advantage of manufacturers’ fall clear-out sales in September, which provided record sales for the month along with record third quarter sales,” he added.
FORD REGAINS SALES LEAD
After several months of FCA (formerly Chrysler) sales supremacy, Ford (+3.9 per cent) retook the top spot in September with 28,214 sales — over 3,000 more than second-place General Motors (1.6 per cent) and almost 5,000 ahead of FCA (+1.1 per cent), which was relegated to third place for the month.
FCA still maintains a lead of more than 11,500 vehicles year-to-date, so Ford will have to maintain similar margins for the balance of the year if it is to hang on to its traditional best-seller position at year-end.
Year-to-date, GM is the biggest gainer of the Detroit three, with sales up by 5.5 per cent, compared to 1.1 per cent for FCA and a 4.9 per cent decline for Ford.
Toyota (+2.0 per cent) slightly lagged the market but remained secure in fourth place, well ahead of Honda (+14.0 per cent), which had a second strong month in a row.
Sixth through 10th places for the month went to Hyundai (+0.4 per cent), Nissan (+8.6 per cent), Mazda (+4.7 per cent), Kia (2.7 per cent) and Volkswagen (-19.6 per cent), which dropped from seventh to 10th.
Undoubtedly, the VW decline, as well as a 15.6 per cent drop for Audi, was a direct result of the brand’s much-publicized emissions scandal. But year-to-date, VW maintained a very slight lead over Mazda for seventh place.
TRUCKS GAIN AGAIN
Once again in September, trucks (including CUVs and SUVs) led the way with sales up 10.4 per cent, while passenger car sales declined by 6.2 per cent, giving trucks 63.9 per cent of the market for the month. Year-to-date, trucks account for a 61.2 per cent market share, compared to 38.8 per cent for passenger cars.
Luxury brands continued to fare well for the most part, led by Land Rover (+58.3 per cent), Lexus (+44.4 per cent), Porsche (+39.0 per cent), Acura (+34.6 per cent) and Infiniti (+22.6 per cent).
Among mainstream brands, Honda (+14.0 per cent was the biggest gainer, followed by Subaru (+11.2 per cent) and Nissan (+8.6 per cent).
The big losers for the month, in addition to Audi and Volkswagen, were Smart (-84.2 per cent), Volvo (-21.3 per cent) and Mitsubishi (-13.3 per cent).
[NOTE: Data quoted in this report were sourced from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, Global Automakers of Canada and individual automakers.]
