November LV Sales Record in Canada

Once again in November Canadian consumers beat a monthly sales record into the ground as they rushed dealerships to drive away with 145,482 new light vehicles, at a daily rate of 6,062 units on each of 24 selling days.

That bested by 13.8% the 5,327 LVs sold on each of 26 selling days a year earlier, when a then-record 138,809 units were delivered. November’s selling pace also edged past the prior month’s 6,030-a-day rate, although three fewer selling days kept volume from matching the 162,809 vehicles sold in October.

With 1,766,769 units delivered in the first 11 months of the year, Canadian new LV sales are expected to surpass within the next two weeks the annual record of 1,860,769 units set in 2014.

The November surge came amid a second consecutive monthly increase in the Conference Board of Canada’s consumer confidence index, the 7.8-point rise boding well for continued strength in the auto sector.

A continued decline in gasoline prices also helped boost November sales of light trucks that soared to a record 95,234 units, or 22.2% more than the 84,406 vehicles retailed a year earlier.

Compared with like-2014, the record-setting light-truck market benefitted every manufacturer in November with gains among volume sellers ranging from 27.7% at industry-leader FCA Canada to 44.9% at fourth-ranked Toyota.    

Car sales, on the other hand, remained week.

Although the 2,094 cars sold daily in November edged prior-year’s 2,080-a-day pace, fewer selling days held total volume to just 50,248 units, some 12.6% fewer than were sold in like-2014.

The November tally ranked only fifth in the last 30 years and fell 45.7% shy of matching the record 92,570 new cars retailed in 1985.  

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