Canada LV Sales Hit January Record

Canadian dealers started 2018 strong with a record January, up 1.5% to 116,975 units and beating last January’s record of 110,644. This equates to an average of 4,679 new LVs on each of 25 selling days last month, up from the 4,610-a-day pace seen in January 2017, when there were 24 days.

However, car sales in Canada had the worst January ever, a title previously claimed by January 2011’s 31,271, with sales plummeting 6.7% to 31,197 compared to like-2017’s 32,092. Honda, up 30.5% with only the CR-Z in the negative, stole the No.1 spot from Toyota, which plummeted 9.6%. Hyundai’s 18.6% decline put the automaker in third place for the month. Sales of Tesla’s Model S grew 76.0% from 90 to 165 units. Booming Panamera and 911 sales put Porsche ahead 45.7%.

Canada light-truck sales increased 4.8% to 85,778 compared with like-2017’s 78,552, marking a record January. General Motors was the only Detroit Three automaker to see a rise in sales, up 7.8% but down to third place for the month. FCA dipped 0.4% but clinched the No.1 spot with a 20.1% market share. Despite an 8.1% drop in sales, Ford claimed second place. Individual light-truck models recording strong growth in the month included the Jeep Compass (+603.1%), Lincoln Navigator (+207.2%), and Volvo XC60 (+206.9%).

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