Canada 2008: Toyota and Honda Civic secure first ever annual wins

The Honda Civic is the most popular vehicle in Canada outright for the very first time in 2008.

Now with All-brands and All-models rankings instead of a 9 months Top 50 models.

The Canadian new light vehicle market resists very well in 2008 at just -0.9% to 1.638.233 units. Fresh from stepping up to #2 for the first time last year, Toyota (+11.3%) goes one step further and secures its first ever annual Canadian pole position thanks to a record volume above the 200.000 unit-mark for the first time and a record 12.8% share. Ford (-5.6%) is relegated to 2nd place with 12.5% while Chevrolet (-7.5%) remains at #3 with a round 10% share but is now threatened by Honda (+1.2%) at 9.3%. Dodge (-5.9%) is down one spot to #5 ahead of Pontiac (-10.8%), Mazda (-1.9%), Hyundai (+7.5%), Nissan (+7.5%) and GMC (-17.7%) holding onto their 2007 rankings.

Dodge Caravan in Quebec, Canada January 2008. The new generation has not helped sales.

Thunder strikes in the models ranking with a brand-new leader. Similarly to the US market, petrol price increases are boosting sales of small cars to the detriment of pick-ups. For the first time since 2002, the Ford F-Series 9-8%) isn’t the best-selling vehicle in Canada, the title goes to the Honda Civic (+2.3%) for the first time in history. It is the first time since 1993 and the Chevrolet Cavalier that a passenger car is the best-selling vehicle in Canada. In fact, there are no less than 4 passenger cars in the Top 6 for the first time since the eighties, with the Toyota Corolla (+42.6%) posting a spectacular rise to climb to a record #3, the Mazda3 (+4.3%) remaining at #4 and the Toyota Yaris (+17.9%) up 3 spots to to #6. Other impressive passenger cars include the Chevrolet Cobalt (+3.5%) at #10 and the Hyundai Accent (+81.5%) at #12. If the Dodge Ram (+1%) manages a small gain at #5, the Dodge Caravan (-27.7%), GMC Sierra (-14.9%) and Chevrolet Silverado (-13.4%) implode.

Previous year: Canada 2007: Ford F-Series and Honda Civic dominate, Pontiac remains much stronger than in the US

Full Year 2008 Top 40 All-brands and Top 290 All-models vs. Full 2007 figures below.