Although actual growth was just 1.3 per cent, June’s total of 171,608 light vehicle sales represents a record for the month, according to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. It has also helped reinforce predictions that in terms of total volume, 2013 could well turn out to be one of the best sales years in Canada since 2002, when deliveries amounted to a (so far) record 1.73 million units.
A closer look at the numbers however, shows that while Ford Motor Company remained the country’s top selling vehicle brand for the month of June, overall demand actually skidded by 6.0 per cent compared with a year earlier. Still, a total of 28,703 vehicles, of which 7,429 were passenger cars and 21,284 were light trucks, helped the automaker maintain a 16.6 per cent market share, a growth of 0.2 per cent over last year.
Chrysler finished runner up, posting a 10.8 per cent gain in sales over June 2012, resulting in 26,054 deliveries. General Motors, which has seen declines in recent months, witnessed a solid performance in June, boasting an 8 per cent increase in volume over 2012, resulting in light vehicle sales of 24,707 units (versus 22,869 sales in June last year).
Elsewhere, it was a mixed bag. Among the Japanese volume brands, only Honda showed any significant gains — boasting a total of 13,416 new vehicle deliveries for the month (an 11.4 per cent gain over 2012). Rivals Toyota and Nissan both witnessed declines for June, the former saw demand drop by four per cent to 17,052 units, while Nissan witnessed a sharper 10.1 per cent decline to land at 8,196 sales for the month. Korean rivals Hyundai and Kia fared better in June than previous months, the former witnessing a 6.1 per cent gain in new car and truck volume, while the latter saw a slight decline of 0.1 per cent over the previous year.
In the luxury segment, despite having tiny overall volume (representing just 0.1 per cent of the light vehicle market), Jaguar Canada saw a whopping 132 per cent gain in sales, posting 165 deliveries for June 2013 versus 71 cars in June 2012. Audi remains another solid performer among luxury brands in Canada, witnessing a 23 per cent gain in sales for the month, resulting in 1,917 deliveries for its range of premium cars and crossover utilities.
Looking at the new vehicle segment overall, light trucks continue to outpace passenger car demand, with the former representing 55.7 per cent of the market in June, thanks to sales of 96,587 units. Part of the increase is being blamed on the growth in fleet and business sales, fueled by attractive finance and lease rates.
As July stretches out before us and manufacturers get ready to introduce new models, it will be interesting to see how vehicle demand fares over the summer and into the fall, though at this point in time there’s every indication that if 2013 doesn’t break 2002’s total, it will probably come close to it.
