New vehicle sales were up 19% in September compared to the same month a year ago, with General Motors leading the way. PHOTO courtesy GM Canada.
Just like the weather, the Canadian new vehicle market remained hot and sunny in September, reports DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
Canadian sales from reporting manufacturers as estimated by DAC came in at 155,259 units, up an exuberant 19.0% from the same month last year. This gain topped the 18.3% gain seen in August and marked the best year-over-year increase seen so far in 2023. To be sure, the month benefited from a weak comparable – with September 2022 the worst September since 2009.
However, as Andrew King, Managing Partner of DAC, commented “Improved vehicle availability is making a real impact on the market, allowing pent-up demand to be released and easily outweighing any down-drafts from high interest rates and a weak economic environment.”
The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) for the month came in at 1.77 million – the highest level since January.On a year-to-date basis the market is now up 10.1% overall with some performance highlights including:
- General Motors lead the market with a gain of 14.6%, recording a total of 197,349 units sold for the year thus far
- Mitsubishi’s hot streak continued with sales in 2023 thus far up 67.9% from 2022
- Strong gains in the mainstream market among larger volume brands were also seen by Kia (up 31.4%), Subaru (up 22.3%), and Honda (up 20.7%)
- The luxury market saw a number of impressive performances with, among larger volume brands, significant increases for Lexus (up 30.0%), Infiniti (up 23.5%), and Audi (up 20.3%)
“Overall, the market continues to closely follow DAC’s forecasts as pent-up demand and improved vehicle availability remain, at least for now, the dominant guiding forces,” DAC concluded in its monthly report.
For more information on DAC’s detailed forecasts of the new vehicle market at a regional, segment, and brand level contact Daniel Azarov at [email protected].
