By the Numbers: Canadian Car Sales Up 14.1%
April 9, 2010 by Jeremy Sally
With 2009’s icy economic chill slowly melting away, the “True North” saw things begin to warm up this spring, both in auto sales, and in automotive manufacturing. Economic confidence, brought on by a strong Loonie, and solid economic forecasts were likely causes for Canadians to open their wallets, purchasing a total of 145,285 vehicles in the month of March.
Despite the enticing figures, the industry will likely need another two years before it recovers to pre-recession sales numbers according to DesRosiers. Incentives are also a major factor for these numbers, especially with Toyota’s attractive new rates to entice customers back into dealerships.
The high dollar will also have a major impact in the coming months for the sector, as Canadians will find themselves paying even more for gas, influencing purchasing habits. More importantly, vehicles built in the country for export to the US will become more expensive, as will parts, meaning that the positive manufacturing news in here could be negated in only a short time.
Ford: Topping the sales charts for this March, the Blue Oval has plowed through the first quarter of the 2010 as Canada’s best selling automaker. Ford’s total share of the Canadian market sits at 15.1%. Total vehicle sales numbered in at 21,996, a 29.2% increase compared to the previous year.
Leading the charge were Ford’s CUV’s, the Edge and Escape, with total sales up by 33.3%. Ford’s truck division has had a good spring, with sales up by 32%. Car sales were also up by 19.4%, helped by the new Taurus, and the popular Fusion.
In addition, Ford’s luxury division, Lincoln’s sales have risen 109.5% compared to last March. Sales of the MKX rose 118.5%; the MKZ following right behind with a 97.4% increase.
Big nameplate winners for this month include Ford Taurus (+230%), Lincoln MKX (+119%), Lincoln MKZ (+97%), Ford F-150 (+52%)
Trucks remain the sales mix king with 78.4%, and the cars occupying the remaining 21.6%.
Toyota: The runner up in the race for sales leadership, Toyota currently sits at a 13.6% share. Despite a multitude of well publicized recalls, the company sold more vehicles this month than it did a year ago, a total of 19,792, marking a 24.5% increase.
Despite the massive recall, and surrounding publicity, sales of recalled models did very well last month. Toyota’s Matrix rose 70.6% compared to last year, marking the best March that model has seen. The Prius accelerated ahead with a 130.4% gain, and the trend continues with the Camry’s increase of 95.9%.
Lexus’ sales did decrease slightly, by 4.4%. However, the RX450h enjoyed its best March, with sales of 130 units.
Other nameplate winners were the Toyota 4Runner (+247.1%), Toyota Venza (+76.5%) and the Toyota Tacoma (+73.8%).
Advertising emphasizing their large line of Canadian built vehicles, quality, and low financing has been prevalent. In addition, Canadian news coverage of the recall and Toyota’s woes seems less prevalent compared to America’s.
Chrysler: The Pentastar found itself tied for third place, with a market share of 13.3% after selling 19,470 vehicles this March. This resulted in a 22% increase over last year; in addition, that means that ChryCo has posted four consecutive months of sales gains of over 20%.
An all-time sales record was set by the Dodge Journey, which sold 2,239 units, leading to an increase of two-thirds compared to last year, and solidifying its status as Canada’s top selling CUV. Ram hauled in a 101% gain, thanks in part to the new HD models, with total sales of 4,841.
Chrysler’s minivan offerings continued to dominate their respective market, with 5,774 units sold in the month of March, an increase of 43%. According to Chrysler’s press release, “Better than eight out of every ten Canadian minivan shoppers chose a Chrysler minivan in March.”
The Jeep Wranglers’ sales allowed it to climb 81% over last year, with March’s figures coming in at 1,160.
Two of the top five selling nameplates in Canada belonged to Chrysler: the Dodge Grand Caravan, and the Ram. Likely helping Chrysler’s fortunes are some very attractive financing options, and cash discounts on their 2010 models.
General Motors: GM was tied with its Auburn Hills competitor for a 13.3% share of the Canadian market, the lowest it has ever been. Compared to last March, GM’s core brand sales were up by 27.3%. However, when including the non-core brands, sales were actually down by 22.9%, making for a less rosy result in early spring.
The General’s focus on advertising its fuel-efficient offerings paid off last month, with Cobalt sales up 45% compared to the previous month. Chevy’s Malibu also enjoyed an increase of 16.5%.
The Canadian built Camaro continues to muscle in on Ford’s turf, posting its sixth consecutive month of being the lead-steed in the race for pony-car supremacy.
On the CUV front, GMC’s Terrain, and the Chevrolet Equinox had a combined rise in sales of 97%. Additionally, the Lambda models, Chevy’s Traverse, GMC’s Acadia, and Buick’s Enclave also had a very good March, with their sales up a combined 56%.
The success of the two CUV’s has led GM to add a third shift to produce them. The automaker is recalling 600 workers to Oshawa, and adding 40 new ones to its plant in Ingersoll, an absolute boon to the Ontario economy which has been battered by the economic slowdown.
The ‘TriShield’ brand had another bit of good news, with the LaCrosse posting its best sales month yet (+36.9%).
Cadillac’s numbers were up over 108% in March, driven by a rejuvenated product line. Sales of the SRX rocketed ahead by 324% compared to last year, with the CTS up by 29%.
Hyundai/Kia: The Korean companies collectively managed a market share of 10.6%. Hyundai’s record of breaking records for sales gains continued in March, with a 24.9% increase over last year’s numbers. Total sales were 11,012.
Hyundai’s small car offerings helped make up a substantial amount of the sales with the Accent selling 2,520 units (+5.3%), and the Elantra coming in at 2,239 (19.3%).
CUV’s also bulked up the numbers: Hyundai moved 2,438 Santa Fe’s (+32.7%), and 1,330 Tucson’s (+127.7%) over March. Bringing up the rear was the Sonata, with 1,178 sales (+23.4%).
For its part, Kia had a banner month, boasting the best March sales in its history of operation in Canada: a total of 4,437 units. This resulted in 29.6% higher sales compared to March, ‘09.
Kia owed its strong showing to the Forte, which sold 1,138 units. The Soul won 816 converts in March, up 15.3% over last March. The new Sorento debuted this month, making an impression with 751 buyers.
Honda: Despite clicking in at a hair below 10% share, Honda’s combined sales of 14,389 units were a 15% increase over March ‘09.
Honda’s CRV broke an all-time record in sales, with 3,427 units finding homes. The brand is also optimistic that Canada will once again be Civic Nation, but the figures for that model were not released.
Acura, the luxury arm of Honda, sold 1,824 units, a 51% increase over last year. Leading the sales charge were the RDX and MDX, with both models having their best March sales ever.
Once again, Ontario’s manufacturing sector will be getting a sorely needed boost, with Honda aiming to open a second shift at its Alliston facility, creating 400 new jobs in the 2011 new year.
Mazda: At the end of the pack was the Zoom-Zoom brand with a 5.6% market share; total sales were 8,152, a 15% increase compared to last March. No doubt the Mazda3 was doing all the smiling, with the popular car occupying the largest portion of those sales.
