Looking at the provincial sales breakdown, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said the big story during the first quarter of the year was the weakness in Quebec.
This was due to the collapse of zero-emissions vehicle sales in the province. However, in eyeing April specifically, DAC said they saw a decided change in the regional dynamic — with the province noting an 11.1 per cent sales increase for the month. And while all provinces experienced new light vehicle sales growth in April, British Columbia and Ontario were notable in their performance for lagging behind.
“Compared to last April, British Columbia saw an estimated 5.4 per cent sales increase while Ontario saw a 7.4 per cent increase,” said DAC in its update. They said the Atlantic region enjoyed more success, with Newfoundland gaining 26.0 per cent and PEI, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia all seeing increases of nearly 20 per cent.
As for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, also provinces outperformed the overall Canadian market. The Atlantic and Prairie regions also continued to outperform the national market year-to-date as well.
“The pullback in sales for Quebec appears to have abated in April, though year to date the province remains 1.5 per cent below the same time window last year,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement. “Ontario and British Columbia continued to underperform as the market entered the second quarter, with U.S. tariff related issues raising particular concerns for Ontario as we look forward.”
Overall, DAC said Canada experienced an estimated 10.2 per cent new light vehicle sales increase in April, reaching nearly 186,000 units sold. Year-to-date, the market rose 5.0 per cent.
