Smaller SUVs are making huge volume gains in Canada as luxury vehicles struggle, according to a recent update from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
They said the growth of the light truck market continued last year with sales up 10.1% against the passenger car market, which was down 2.8%.
The shift was particularly visible at the segment level where the compact SUV segment, “the clear market leader from a volume perspective,” enjoyed an increase of 20.9% over the previous year to well above 560,000 or 30.5% of the total market. DAC said the increase was “far in excess” of any other segment. They also noted that subcompact SUVs were up 16.2% for the year.
“The market at a segment level was highly dynamic in 2024,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement. “Affordability concerns pressed down on the luxury side of the market, as Canadians continued to show their preference for smaller mainstream SUVs as their vehicle of choice.”
On the light truck side two other performers stood out in terms of percent growth: small vans (thanks largely to the Toyota Sienna) and large vans (due to a resurgence in fleet sales). The segments were up 28.9% and 16.6%, respectively, though they remain small in volume.
When it comes to luxury vehicles, the largest sales decreases for the year came from compact luxury cars, subcompact cars, and luxury cars — down 11.3%, 11.1%, and 10.9%, respectively. The overall luxury market continued to struggle in 2024, when compared to the mainstream market.
“Luxury sales did see an uptick in the fourth quarter but still finished the year down 0.4% — compared to an overall market that gained 8.2%,” said DAC.
