The good times keep on rolling as new-vehicle sales in Canada set new records again in March and for the first quarter as a whole, with both up fully 9.3 per cent from the same periods a year ago. March sales of 175,142 units were the best ever for the month by a significant margin.
“Auto sales in Canada continue their resilience buoyed by the second straight month of a resurgence in consumer confidence,” said David Adams, president of the Global Automakers of Canada.
“It has been a dream start to 2016,” said Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
With the year just one quarter down and sales to date already more than 34,000 units ahead of the same period in 2015’s record year, speculation has begun about another annual record. The seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate (SAAR), which has topped 1.9 million for each of the three months so far, lends credence to that optimism. However, that SAAR has been declining since January, which may be cause for some caution.
In the high-flying U.S. market, which came up short of expectations with just a three per cent sales increase in March, the SAAR dropped precipitously to below 16 million for the first time since last June.
Ford back on top
For the first month this year, Ford topped the sales charts in March, with 26,432 vehicles sold, an increase of 23.7 per cent from the same month last year. Ford’s year-to-date sales are up 20.6 per cent from 2015 and it has gained 1.5 per cent in market share, although it still lags FCA by about 1,400 sales through Q1.
With March sales up by just 3.2 per cent, FCA’s sales again lagged behind the market average in March. Its year-to-date sales are up just 1.6 per cent from Q1 2015 in a market that’s up 9.3 per cent – a trend that will see it quickly surpassed by Ford for first place if it continues.
While still well back in third, General Motors is also making gains on FCA, with sales up 16.5 per cent in March and 17.7 per cent YTD and a one per cent improvement in market share. FCA gave up 1.3 per cent in share. Collectively, the Detroit Three have regained 1.2 per cent of market share so far this year.
Toyota (+15.1 per cent) also made gains in fourth place, as did Honda (+11.8 per cent} in fifth, further extending its lead over Hyundai, (-0.4 per cent) and Nissan (+12.9 per cent) in that order. Mazda (-14.0 per cent) surpassed Kia (-10.1 per cent) for eighth and Volkswagen (-22.6 per cent) completed the top 10 for the month, still suffering from its lack of diesels to sell and the negative publicity surrounding its diesel emissions scandal.
Trucks double cars
Truck sales, including and largely driven by those of utility vehicles, were up by 18.2 per cent in March compared to a decline of 4.0 per cent for passenger cars — a situation that has no become the norm. Year-to-date, trucks and utilities are outselling cars two-to-one, claiming 66.6 per cent of the market — 4.8 per cent more than was the case just a year ago.
Luxury-vehicle sales also continued to set a torrid pace, with Land Rover sales up 85.4 per cent, Volvo by 73.8 per cent and Audi by 42.9 per cent. Mercedes-Benz (+3.7 per cent) continued to be the top-selling premium brand, claiming 11th place overall ahead of more mainstream Subaru (+4.4 per cent) and well ahead of BMW (+15.2 per cent), the second-ranked premium brand.
[NOTE: Data quoted in this report were sourced from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, Global Automakers of Canada and individual automakers.]
