Continuing the trend that has now extended for 15 consecutive months, new-vehicle sales in Canada declined again in May 2019. Sales of 202,800 units were down 5.9% from the same month last year, which were themselves down from their record peak in 2017.
Still, it’s the third-best total ever for the month and the 799,423 sales sum for the year-to-date, while down 4.4% from this point a year ago, is the third-best ever for the period.
As David Adams, president of Global Automakers of Canada (GAC) put it, “If you were to apply the percentage that the market is down through May to the entire year, we would still come in at almost 1.9 million units, making 2019 one of the best sales years ever.”
Reinforcing that positive perspective, the SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Sales Rate) for May rebounded to about 1.96-million, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), after falling below 1.9-million in April for the first time this year. So, in spite of a significant decline from past peaks, it wasn’t a bad month in historic terms. The big question is, how long will sales continue to slide before bottoming out?
What’s not in question is the relentless erosion of passenger car sales, in favour of light trucks, including vans and utility vehicles. May car sales were down by 17.4% from the same month a year ago, while truck sales were off just 0.4%. Year-to-date, passenger car sales are down by 14.7%, losing 3.2% of market share to just 26.5%. Light truck sales declined just 0.1%, improving their market share by 3.2% to 73.5%.
It should be noted that the total market sales figures reported here are now estimated, by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), given General Motors’ recent decision to report actual sales only on a quarterly basis. These estimated monthly results will be reconciled quarterly to reflect actual sales when GM reports officially.
Ford extends number-one margin
Ford’s 32,814 May sales were down by 1.6% from a year ago but the Blue Oval retained the number-one sales spot for both the month and the year-to-date, increasing its lead in both. Total sales of 123,878 units so far this year are down by 0.4% from 2018 but the market is down more so Ford’s market share increased by 0.6% to 15.6%.
General Motors’ estimated sales of 28,723 units in May were down 12.5% from last year and its year-to-date estimates of 112,211 vehicles sold is down by 11.9%. As a result, GM’s market share declined by 1.2% to 14.0%, maintaining a clear second place in the rankings.
Back into third place for the month, Toyota’s sales improved by 9.0% in May, with 24,010 vehicles sold. That gain pushed year-to-date sales up 4.5% to 87,523 units, bumping market share by 0.9% to 10.9%, the biggest gain in the industry. In spite of that increase, however, Toyota remains in fourth place in year-to-date sales.
Still third for the year-to-date but fourth on the month, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ 21,402 May sales were down 25.4% from last year — the greatest percentage decline of any mainstream automaker. Year-to-date, FCA’s 96,180 sales are off 14.4% from a year ago and market share is down by 1.4% to 12.0% — the biggest loss in the industry.
Secure in fifth place, Honda’s May sales fell closely in line with the overall market decline, dropping 4.9% to 18,827 vehicles. Cumulative year-to-date sales of 72,020 units are 2.4% below their 2018 level but market share is up by 0.2% to 9.0% in the down market.
Hyundai maintains momentum
Hyundai maintained its recent momentum, claiming sixth-place again in May with 14,156 vehicles sold, an increase of 1.4% from the same month last year. Year-to-date, however, Hyundai still trails Nissan in seventh-place, albeit not by much. The Korean brand has sold 51,579 vehicles, 8.0% more than for the same period last year, and increased market share by 0.8% to 6.5% — second only to Toyota in terms of share gain.
Nissan again ranked seventh in sales for the month, in spite of its 13,477 sales increasing 1.8% from May 2018. The Japanese brand remains sixth for the year-to-date sales, however, with 52,774 units sold, down by 5.2% from last year. As a result, Nissan’s market share is down 0.1% to 6.6%.
Kia consolidated its eighth place ranking with 7,913 sales in May, up 8.6% from last year, pushing cumulative sales up of 6.1% to 30,211 units. Correspondingly, Kia’s market share increased by 0.4% to 3.8%.
Volkswagen has now established itself firmly in ninth-place, selling 7,058 vehicles in May, an increase of 6.6% from a year ago. Cumulatively, VW’s 27,329 sales are up 3.9% from 2018 and its market share has increased by 0.3% to 3.4%.
A 17.7% May sales decline, to 6,380 units, relegated Mazda to 10th-place for the month, as well as the year to date. Cumulative sales of 26,510 vehicles are down by 14.8% from 2018 and market share has declined by 0.4% to 3.3%.
Not all that far behind in 11th-place, Subaru had its best month ever in May, with 5,875 sales, up 6.6% from last year. As a result, Subaru’s market share improved by 0.1 % to 2.8%.
Luxury-brand leader Mercedes-Benz regained 12th-place for the month, after giving it up to BMW in April, and it remains entrenched in that position for the year-to-date in spite of a 20.5% May sales decline and a 0.4% cumulative share loss to 2.2%. BMW and Audi follow Mercedes-Benz in that order in both the luxury and overall rankings.
Winners and losers
On a percentage basis, the biggest winners in February were Smart (+115.8%), Genesis (+14.3%), Lexus (+9.5%), Toyota (+9.0%) and Kia (+8.6%).
The biggest losers, in percentage terms, were FCA (-25.4%), Maserati (-24.1%), Mercedes-Benz (-20.5%), Mini (-20.0%) and Mitsubishi (-19.9%).
