Canada LV Sales at January Peak

An unexpected uptick in Canadian employment and consumer confidence at end of 2016 helped boost sales of new light vehicles in January, as consumers flocked to dealerships in record numbers for the month.

With 4,627 vehicles sold on each of 24 selling days, January deliveries reached 110,816, an all-time high for the month that bested by 4.9% the prior record of 110,045 set in 2002 at a rate of 4,401 daily.

Compared with prior-year’s 108,379 units, January sales were up 2.2%.  

The month’s benchmark performance was entirely due to light trucks, sales of which reached a 78,614 units, 5.2% more than the prior January peak of 74,723 set a year ago. The January selling pace also rose slightly from that of the prior month, although unit volume trailed December’s 88,232 deliveries due to fewer selling days.

Cars, on the other hand, continued to languish, with sales of 32,202 units trailing prior-year’s 33,656 by 4.3%. It was the second-lowest January tally in 32 years, beating only the 31,240 cars sold in 2011 by 3.1%

FCA Canada was in the top spot in LV sales in January, beating archrival Ford by 8.9% despite a 6.5% decline in light-truck sales. Bucking the industry trend, FCA car sales were up 82.1%.

At the same time, Ford posted a 3.0% LV sales increase, while third-place General Motors saw a 1.5% year-over-year gain.

Sales by fourth-place Toyota rose 1.1% in January with fifth-place Honda up 1.5%.

Whether January is a harbinger of another record LV sales year remains to be seen. Although the Conference Board of Canada forecasts economic growth of 1.9% in 2017 comparded with 1.3% last year, factors such as inflation, consumer debt and sluggish wage growth could weigh on the market, potentially dragging down demand for new cars and light trucks.  

[email protected]