Lots of variation was observed in May, where provincial sales performance is concerned. New light vehicle sales increases were observed in all Canadian provinces, ranging from as low as an estimated +1.4% in Ontario to a stronger +27.5% in Newfoundland, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
“The new light vehicle sales market has lost some of the steam it showed earlier in 2024,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement. “While sales continue to grow year-over-year, volatility at the provincial level appears to have returned in force for May.”
Like Ontario, British Columbia underperformed for the month, noted only a 2.0% sales increase among reporting OEMs. Alberta managed a single digit increase of 7.3, although the province did pull ahead of the national average. Other provinces like New Brunswick, following Newfoundland at a distance, outperformed the national average — up 17.2% for the month.
“For the year thus far, British Columbia noted the lowest increase among the provinces at 9.6%, with Alberta and Ontario not far off at 10.0% and 10.8% respectively,” said DAC.
They also noted that an estimated 169,000 new light vehicles were sold in May 2024, which is up 5.7% from the same period last year — when 160,000 units were sold.
