Canada LV Sales Set August Record

Canadian dealers sold a record 183,411 new light vehicles in August, a gain of 3.3% from the month’s prior peak of 177,468 set in 2015 thanks entirely to an extra selling day.

Consumers drove an average of 7,054 new LVs off showroom floors on each of 26 selling days last month, down from the 7,099-a-day pace seen in August 2015, when there were 25 days.

A year ago, sales totaled 172,004 on a 25-day rate of just 6,880 units.

Once again, it was record light-truck demand that powered the market to the new August high.

Sales of pickups, vans, CUVs and SUVs reached a record 124,568 units, a gain of 5.4% over prior-year’s then-record 113,600 and a 7.8% increase from the 111,066 sold in August  2015. Light-truck demand was strong enough that the sector would have established a new benchmark even without the extra selling day last month.

It also marked the eighth consecutive August light-truck record, a string that began with 76,531 deliveries in 2010.

The longer selling period did however boost August car sales slightly to 58,843 from prior-year’s 58,404, despite a 3.1% decline in the daily rate.

Still, car deliveries were 36% below the record 91,765 units sold in 1985, when cars commanded a 76.1% share of the market, compared with last month’s 32.1%.

Despite the strong August market, LV sales for the year were down 1.8% from like-2016, to 454,542 from 462,659. A 1.8% gain in light trucks was more than offset by a 3.5% decline in car demand.   

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