According to data compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, new light vehicle sales in Canada reached 154,949 units in October, an increase of 6.5 per cent over the same period a year earlier. Additionally, October’s numbers also helped push the Seasonally Annual Adjusted Rate (SAAR) to over 2 million units for the second time in two months.
Much of the continued growth in new vehicle sales has been attributed to a swell in light truck demand, which represented 58.1 per cent (90,009 units) of total new vehicle volume last month. In terms of individual brands, Chrysler led the way in October, posting sales of 22,160 units, placing it ahead of Ford Motor Company and representing a 23.1 per cent gain over October 2013.
With sales of 22,044 units last month, Ford actually saw a decline compared with the same period a year earlier, while General Motors which has seen sales uptick this year, posted a 7.3 per cent gain over October 2013, delivering 22,002 sales last month.
Among the Imported nameplates, Toyota Canada held the lead in terms of overall volume (16,213 units) though actual increases over a year earlier were modest (1.4 per cent). Honda, which was second among Import brands for volume last month (13,225) actually saw demand drop by four per cent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, it’s sister brand, Acura, put in a stellar performance during October with demand almost doubling from the same period a year earlier.
Other big gainers for the the month were MINI (55 per cent), Mitsubishi (31 per cent) Infiniti (29.5 per cent) and Volvo, the latter seeing a massive 13.1 per cent increase in sales — an encouraging sign for the Swedish brand which has tended to struggle in recent years, not helped by a lack of significant new product in the pipeline.
As we get close to the final furlong, it appears that 2014 will indeed be a banner year for new vehicle sales in Canada, which begs the question, how will 2015 likely shape up?
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