Beleaguered by an ongoing global microchip shortage and consequent inventory shortfalls, Canadian sales of 155,657 new vehicles in July 2021, as estimated by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), were down by 5.7% from the same month last year – and they were down 10.3% from the more normal level of July 2019.
Year-to-date, sales of 1,013,104 new units through July were up 25.1% from the pandemic-ravaged numbers for the same period in 2020, although they remained down by 12.2% from 2019.
On a more positive note, the SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Sales Rate) for the month climbed back to 1.71 million – the highest level in the last three months although still well below March’s 1.92 million, according to DAC.
It’s a “definite disappointment after the strong performances that started the year,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner of DAC,, noting that “the industry is still struggling with its current ‘twin troubles’; with problems persisting on both the demand and supply sides of the market.”
Those “twin troubles, of course, are the ongoing demand-side deterrents of pandemic related restrictions and other impacts plus a global electronic microchip shortage that has significantly reduced supply from many automakers.
As has been the case, the supply-side limitations caused by the microchip shortage, plus ongoing uncertainties on the pandemic front in many regions, continue to make planning for the balance of the year uncertain at best.
Caution, your results may vary
“Disparities in performance are the real story for the month, and will likely persist for the remainder of the year as the impact of the semiconductor shortages continue to vary greatly by model and by manufacturer,” observed King.
Given that many automakers continue to report sales only quarterly rather than monthly, a complete breakdown of results won’t be available until the end of Q3.
Of those that did report July results, Genesis continued to show the greatest percentage gains for the month, with sales up 355.7% from 2020 and 269.0% from 2019.
Toyota came next with an increase of 19.7% for the month compared to last year, and a 7.5% improvement from 2019.
Lexus wasn’t far behind with a 16.6% increase from July 2020 and a 37.0% jump from the same month in 2019.
Mazda, Hyundai and Acura were the only reporting brands with sales declines from July 2020, down by 10.0%, 8.7%, and 3.4% respectively.
All the other reporting automakers showed gains from 2020 but still lagged behind 2019 performance, as follows: (Subaru +58.8%/-0.6%); (Hyundai +57.6/-4.4); (Toyota +58.0/-4.5%);(Toyota +52/4/-5.4%); (Volvo /-6.8%); and Honda (+32.9%/-35.4%).
It is noteworthy that, for the second month in a row, Hyundai outsold Honda in May.
The chaos continues!
Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc., GAC and CVMA
Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc., GAC and CVMA
