The Honda Civic and Ford F-Series have maintained their top spot in the new vehicle sales market — even as these models experienced significant declines in the second quarter and first half of the year, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
In its top 10 sales update for the first half and Q2 2020, DAC said the Honda Civic and Ford F-Series “have long been the perennial darlings of their respective sides of the new vehicle sales market.”
“The two vehicles have consistently come out on top in terms of overall sales volume among passenger cars and light trucks respectively,” said DAC. “It was wondered if the ongoing pandemic would present an opportunity to dethrone the two but at present, their hold on their respective top spots has yet to wane.”
Civic sales were down 49.7% in Q2 and 43.8% in the first half of the year, while F-Series sales declined 37.6% in Q2 and 24.6% in the first half. Still, both models managed to outperform their markets.
During the same period, the Toyota Corolla and Ram pickups were in second place, on a national level. The Volkswagen Golf claimed fourth position among passenger cars for both Q2 (down 28.8%) and the first half of the year (down 19.4%). The Chevrolet Spark rose to eighth position in Q2 thanks to a manageable decrease of 28.0%.
In the light truck segment, the GMC Sierra experienced sales decreases of 19.0% for Q2 and 9.2% for the first half, which DAC described as fairly low. This helped the model maintain its third place slot.
A closer look at regional variations in Q2 shows the Toyota RAV4 claiming the second place sales position in Quebec among light trucks, while the Honda CR-V did the same in Nova Scotia. In Prince Edward Island, the Ram Pickup beat out the F-Series.
“While most provinces saw the passenger car pecking order fall in line — Civic-Corolla-Elantra — Alberta saw the Volkswagen Golf claim third position for the second quarter, with sales down just 14.2%,” said DAC. “In Saskatchewan, the Hyundai Elantra broke rank and claimed second position among passenger cars.”
