Canada’s new light-vehicle market posted its first year-over-year sales increase in nine months in June, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), ending a string of eight consecutive monthly declines.
DAC estimates 182,000 new light vehicles were sold during the month, up 1.9 per cent from the 178,000 units sold in June 2025. However, the consultancy noted that June 2026 included one additional selling day compared with the same month last year.
“To be sure, last month’s sales were a long way off the 204,000 seen in June 2017 — when let’s not forget Canada’s population was 5 million people less,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement. “However, given the challenges facing the economy at this time, we will take any sort of market gain as positive.”
The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) reached 1.84 million units in June, improving from recent months and breaking a downward trend that had persisted since January’s 2.08 million-unit pace.
For the first six months of 2026, Canadian sales totalled 950,000 units, down 2.6 per cent from 976,000 during the same period last year.
General Motors led the market through the first half with nearly 149,000 sales. Among mainstream brands, Volkswagen posted a 20.2 per cent year-to-date sales increase, while Stellantis benefited from a strong first quarter. In the luxury segment, Land Rover recorded the strongest gain, with first-half sales rising 39.7 per cent, while Volvo and Genesis also posted significant growth.
By vehicle type, light-truck sales declined 2.1 per cent during the first half, while passenger-car sales fell 6.6 per cent.
