In looking at segment sales for the first half of the year, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants found the data showed a diversion from some long-term trends.
The sub-compact car segment was up 50.5 per cent during this period and 94.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2025. That comes as models are disappearing from the lineup and volumes have sharply declined in recent years. But the growth of the Fiat 500E and strong sales for the Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa helped push the segment forward, even if a bit.
“Perhaps more significantly, the larger-volume small pickup segment continued to see strength with a 38.7 per cent sales increase in the first half, with the small van segment similarly seeing a 38.1 per cent sales increase over the same time last year,” said DAC in its update.
However, the firm also noted that on the other end of the spectrum, the luxury passenger car segment experienced a 46.9 per cent decrease, while the intermediate passenger car segment was down 33.6 per cent. The sports car segment was also down in sales, by 18.9 per cent. Although it is also worth noting that Q2 results were an improvement over Q1.
“The new light vehicle sales market saw some unusual sales patterns in the first half of 2025,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner of DAC, in a statement. “Of interest were the deviations from long established trends, with a boost for subcompact cars and small vans following years of declines.”
DAC highlighted one long term trend that did continue, which is the growth of truck share. They said overall light truck sales reached 852,000 units sold, an increase of 7.0 per cent from the first half of 2024. The passenger car segment decreased 3.1 per cent to 124,000 units sold for the first half.
