The frenzied buyer activity that overtook Canadian dealers in May cooled somewhat in June, but not enough to keep from toppling more sales records.
Light-vehicle deliveries reached a June record of 177,505 units, edging past the month’s prior peak of 175,219 vehicles set in 2014, despite a 2.7% decline in the average selling rate to 7,100 units on each of 25 selling days from year-ago’s 24-day average of 7,301.
That was enough to secure a second-quarter record of 563,635 deliveries, or 2.7% more than the 548,981 LVs sold in April-June 2014.
It also pushed first-half sales to an all-time high of 931,467 units, also 2.7% ahead of the 906,843 cars and light trucks sold in like 2014, setting the stage for another record year in 2015.
The June cool-down was felt most acutely in the car market, where deliveries totaling 68,148 units ranked last in the 30-year period since 1985.
On the other hand, buyers’ appetites for light trucks remained strong, with record-June sales of 109,357 vehicles, besting by 6.7% the prior benchmark of 98,435 units set in 2014.
So far this year, FCA Canada remains in first place with a 1.2% increase over year-ago, to 147,192 units, although its market share fell slightly to 15.8% from 16.0%.
Second-place Ford, down 6.5% for the year, to 132,164 units, has seen its market share slip to 14.2% from 15.6% even as rival General Motors has increased its bite to 13.7 from 13.1% on the strength of a 7.2% LV sales gain to 127,225 units through June.
Likewise, fourth-place Toyota/Lexus Has increased sales 4.3% in the first six months, to 104,977 vehicles, with a modest market share gain to 11.3% from 11.1%.
Interestingly, electric car sales have remained strong, if low volume, with Tesla selling an estimated 862 of its luxury electric cars through June, more than double the 420 sold in like-2014, while Nissan Leaf deliveries are up 5.6% to 488 units from 462 in first-half 2014.
