New vehicle sales in Canada during March were up just 2.8 per cent from the same month in 2011, not as far ahead of 2011 as were the first two months of the year. But with a SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate) of just over 1.7 million (per DesRosiers Automotive Consultants), it was a strong month indeed.
Reinforcing that perspective, March’s sales were 8.5 per cent ahead of the past-five-year average for the month. And sales for the first quarter were 9.8 percent ahead of their five-year average, as well as up 8.4 per cent over last year.
No-one expects this pace to continue unabated, but if it did… it would be a record or near-record year.
Ford back on top
Although Ford’s sales were down slightly (-3.3%) from last March, the Blue Oval won the sales race for the month.
General Motors (-7.4%) edged out Chrysler (+8.4%) for second place on the month, but Chrysler, which showed the biggest (in fact the only) improvement of the Detroit Three over last year, remained in first-place year-to-date.
During Q1, Chrysler gained 0.51 per cent of share, relative to year-ago, while Ford lost 1.51 per cent and GM dropped 1.59 per cent.
Compared to their five-year averages for the first quarter, Ford’s sales were up 15.2 per cent and Chrysler’s 14.7 per cent, while GM’s fell by 20.3 per cent.
Although Toyota’s sales numbers were down 1.2 per cent from last March, they have rebounded by 12.7 per cent year-to-date, leaving the brand unchallenged in fourth place.
Honda (-7.0%) and Hyundai (+8.4%) remain in a dogfight for fifth place, with Honda ahead by a couple-hundred units for the month, but Hyundai in front about the same number year-to-date.
Import sales remain strong
As was the case for the first two months of the year, import-brand sales continued strong in March, claiming 55.7 per cent of the market, to the D3’s 44.3 percent – exactly the same numbers as for the first quarter.
The big March gainers over last year were Land Rover (+56.6%), Kia (+22.9%), Mazda (+34.4%), MINI (+29.7%), Audi (+22.1%), BMW (+18.0%), Volvo (+17.9%), Volkswagen (+11.6%) and Nissan (+10.5%).
Both Toyota (-1.2%) and Honda (-7.0%), which showed big gains in January/February, saw sales drop off in March. Other import brands suffering declines included: Smart (-38.1%), Acura (-35.1%), Suzuki (-17.7%), Lexus (-8.8%) and Jaguar (-4.8%).
Comparing to their five-year averages for Q1, the big gainers were Audi (+90.1%), Land Rover (+87.7%), Kia (+74.3%), Mercedes-Benz (+50.8%), MINI (+50.8%), Hyundai (+40.3%), BMW (+38.9%), Volkswagen (+36.8%), Subaru (+35.6%).
Those import brands losing ground from their five-year averages were: Smart (-48.0%), Suzuki (-41.8%), Acura (-30.3%), Jaguar (-11.0%), Volvo (-9.3%) and Mazda (-3.5%).
Truck share diminishing
Perhaps the story of the year so far is the resurgence of passenger car sales, relative to those of trucks.
As was the case for the first two months, the improvement in car sales in March (+6.5%) outpaced that of trucks (+0.3%). Year-to-date, passenger-car sales are up 14.5 per cent, compared to just 3.9 per cent for trucks.
Passenger car sales accounted for 44.50 percent of the market during Q1 – an improvement of 2.37 per cent – cutting truck share back 55.5 per cent.
