You’d think 2014 would appear so, given that this May ranks as the best ever in terms of new car and truck sales in Canada. We can point to longer financing terms and growing negative equity, but so long as money remains cheap, consumers are continuing to buy, which is good news for both manufacturers and new vehicle retailers.
Although Ford sold more cars and trucks than any other brand in Canada last month (31,742), it was followed very closely by Chrysler Canada (31,302). The difference to note here, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, is that compared with last year, Ford has struggled to really maintain momentum (demand was down 2.9 per cent compared with May 2013), while Chrysler continues to go from strength-to-strength (sales were up 7.9 per cent from May last year).
General Motors continues to see a warming trend. A total of 26,444 units sold for the month is an 11.8 per cent increase over last year and the first double digit gains GM has seen in some time.
And it wasn’t only the Domestic brands that fared well last month. Jaguar, Land Rover, Nissan and Porsche all continued to perform well, witnessing growth of more than 25 per cent over May last year (Land Rover and Jaguar saw 40.8 and 38.9 per cent gains respectively).
In fact, May 2014 proved to be a positive month for just about all automotive brands in Canada, with declines on the Import side witnessed only from MINI (19.2 per cent), Mitsubishi (15.0 per cent), Volvo (13.6) and Acura (1.9) — brands that in general have been struggling to build showroom traffic, largely due to a lack of new or significantly updated products.
How will the Canadian new vehicle market fare as we head into summer and both automakers and dealers get ready to clear out model year stocks in preparation for the fall? There is a consensus that pent up demand for new vehicles still needs to be satisfied, though some industry observers note that last year’s rock solid October and November could be tough to beat. Still, if we do end up setting another record, it makes you wonder how the market will perform over the next few years.
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