For the fifth month this year, new vehicle sales in Canada in October were down from the same period last year – this time by a significant amount.
Sales of 154,542 new cars, trucks and utilities were 5.2% fewer than for October 2015 – the greatest year-over-year decline of any month this year.
As negative as those figures may appear, they’re not, however, as calamitous as they may seem. While they are lower than a year ago, last year’s October sales were the best ever for the month, by a big margin, so it’s a tough comparable to match. And even though they’re down, this October’s are the third best in history for the month.
In addition, this October’s SAAR (seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate) was more than 2.0-million for only the third time this year, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) figures. So, while sales may be leveling off, they’re far from in free-fall.
They’re also still on track for a fourth consecutive annual record. Year-to-date sales of 1,662,726 units, are now 3.2% and more than 38,000 vehicles ahead of this time last year. Even if November and December sales fall a similar percentage to October, full-year sales will still clear the near 1.9-million record achieved in 2015. All subject, of course to any global economic chaos that may result from U.S. election results.
Light truck sales, including utility vehicles, were down 3.1% for the month but they continued to outpace those of passenger cars, which fell by 9.1%. Trucks held 65.4% of the market for the month as well as for year-to-date, with cars holding onto just 33.6%.
Ford pulling away in first place
Ford was a couple days behind the industry in reporting its October results, because of a fire at its Dearborn world headquarters, and when they came through they showed a modest 2.6% decline to 21,500 vehicles sold.
That number was ahead of the industry average however and well ahead of its Detroit rivals, giving Ford a lock on first place in the sales race with 260,246 sales year-to-date – more than 22,000 clear of second-place FCA and up 9.3% from this time last year. Ford now holds a 15.7% market share, up one full per cent from a year ago.
Second place for the month went to General Motors, with sales down 8.8% from GM’s chart-topping October last year. Still, with 21,219 vehicles sold they were within 300 units of Ford.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles fared poorest of the Detroit three, with sales of 19,527 units down 12.8% from a year ago, relegating it to third place. Year-to-date, FCA sales are down 4.9% and it has lost 1.1 percentage points of market share, to 14.3%, but remains solidly in second place ahead of GM.
Fourth-place Toyota’s sales fell by 7.4% in October but fifth-place Honda’s outpaced the market, up 0.9%, setting a record for the month. Hyundai (-13.8%), Nissan (-9.9%), Mazda (-3.4%), Kia (-2.9%) and Volkswagen (-11.1%) all suffered declines to complete the top ten in that order. Note that Mazda slipped past Kia into eighth place for the month, although not the year-to-date.
Jaguar was the biggest gainer in percentage terms, with a 295% increase as its new F-Pace SUV continues to attract new customers and Maserati’s modest sales were up 43.1 %. The only other brands with double-digit increases were all among the premium ranks as well: BMW (+21.4%), Porsche (+13.9%), Acura (+12.1%), and Audi (+10.0%).
Once again, Subaru (+9.7%) made the greatest improvement among non-luxury brands, while Volvo continued its steady progress with a 7.0% gain in a down market.
[NOTE: Data quoted in this report were sourced from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, Global Automakers of Canada and individual automakers.]
