May was another record breaking month for Canadian auto sales, and there’s nothing to show that this trend will be slowing down any time soon. In a note to clients, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants stated: “The Canadian new vehicle market remains to be on track for the best selling year ever as the industry reported the highest monthly sales in history last month.”
According to the car industry’s figures, last month’s car and light truck sales went up 1.1 percent, with a total of 197,937 new vehicles sold. This number brings this year’s 5-month new vehicle sale tally up to 755,582. There’s been continued growth in the luxury segment, with big jumps in sales from the Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Land Rover, Infiniti, BMW and Lexus brands compared to last year.
This is all good news if you’re hoping to pursue a mechanic career! More vehicles produced and sold means that they will inevitably need maintenance and repairs at some point. Read on to find out more about which automakers lead the pack in vehicle sales.
Canada’s Top 3 Automotive Sales Leaders in May
Chrysler came in first place last month, selling 31,617 cars and trucks. They saw a rise in the Jeep brand’s sales as well as passenger cars, which made up for the drop in their minivan segment. Students who are looking to pursue an auto career may know that Chrysler produces the majority of their minivans at their Windsor, Ontario factory, which is currently shut down for an upgrade and retooling process. Lower supplies may therefore be a reason for the drop in minivan sales.
Ford came in second place for Canadian sales in May. The automaker’s sales dropped around 8 percent, to a monthly total of 29,052 cars and trucks. GM Canada showed the biggest increase for the month, with their sales numbers rising 3.8 percent, to a total of 27,462 units.
US Automotive Sales Also Grew in May
Just south of the border, US auto sales were also higher than expected for May. Sales boosts were said to be because of Memorial Day promotions and higher demands for SUVs. If you’re hoping to become a mechanic, you should know that Canada has seen a large amount of SUV and pickup truck sales this year as well, so there will be plenty more big vehicles rolling into garages.
Compared to last May, US sales rose 2 percent to over 1.64 million cars and trucks. According to industry analyst Autodata Corp., this is the country’s fastest pace of vehicle sales since July 2006.
Global Carmaker’s Canadian Sales Stats
Students looking to pursue careers in auto repair may have noticed that the majority of the winning stats for Canadian auto sales involve Detroit’s top three carmakers! Japanese brands Toyota and Honda weren’t too far behind, placing 4th and 5th.
Toyota, in fourth place saw a slight decrease in demand, with sales dropping 1.9 percent to 20,291 vehicles. Honda’s numbers dropped 3 percent last month, selling 17,949 vehicles, placing them in fifth place.
Why do you think Canadian vehicle sales are so high this year? Do people have more need for a vehicle these days?