Sales of 160,274 new vehicles in Canada during March were up just 1.9% from the same month last year, but that modest advance was enough to make it an all-time March record.
It’s the third record month in a row and the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases.
The pace of the March advance was not as brisk as for the first two months of the year, however, pulling the overall gain for the first quarter back to 2.7 per cent, from its February-ending level of 3.3 per cent.
“Canadians seem undaunted by some of the economic head winds, with the Conference Board of Canada indicating that consumer confidence has increased almost 13 points,” said David Adams, president of the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC). “These trends suggest continued vehicle sales growth,” he added.
Still, all may not be smooth sailing toward another record year. March was the fifth consecutive month of decline in the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR). At about 1.73-million it’s still solid – and well ahead of where it was at this time last year – but it’s far short of the pace needed to make 2015 the third best-selling year in a row.
Industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers noted that, while the market is off to a positive start, January through March are three of the slowest months of the year for sales and because volumes are so low specific sales tactics by individual brands can have a significant impact on the market.
He cautioned that we should wait to see how the market develops in the key Spring selling season to better understand where it is heading.
FCA (Chrysler) leads the way
For the third consecutive month, FCA Canada (formerly Chrysler Canada) claimed the top spot on the sales charts with a 1.7 per cent improvement over March 2014. Ford (-4.6 per cent) maintained second place ahead of General Motors (-3.5 per cent), and slipped further behind in the year-to-date count, which FCA now leads by more than 7,500 units.
In spite of its gains, however, FCA gave up a couple tenths of market share, as did GM, and Ford lost a full percentage point.
Toyota remained firmly ensconced in fourth place although, after a big surge in February, March sales were down 5.1 per cent from last year and Hyundai (+0.2 per cent) held on to fifth position ahead of Honda (-2.6 per cent), which regained sixth place form a still strong Nissan (+8.0 per cent).
Volkswagen was the star marque for the month with sales up by 72.6 per cent, keeping it ahead of a resurgent Kia (+13.2 per cent).
Other solid gainers for the month included Porsche (+45.6 per cent), Mini (+ 26.4 per cent), Subaru (+16.1 per cent), Lexus (+13.0 per cent) and Mercedes-Benz (+ 10.1 per cent).
The biggest losers for the month were Smart (-83.8 per cent), Volvo (-21.7 per cent) and Acura (-10.6 per cent).
Light truck sales, which include utility vehicles, continued strong with a 5.4 per cent advance, compared to a 2.9 per cent decline for passenger cars. Trucks accounted for 61.8 per cent of all new-vehicle sales in Canada through the first quarter.
The Ford F-series continued to be the best- selling vehicle overall, while the Honda Civic was once again the best-selling passenger car. The F-Series was followed by the Ram and GM Sierra pickups on the truck side; the Civic by the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla among cars.
