Canada First Half 2018: Towards a 6th consecutive record year?

Jeep posts the largest gain in the Top 10 at +21.5% but can’t prevent FCA from sinking 11.1%.

* See the Top 15 groups, Top 37 brands and Top 285 models by clicking on the title *

There’s nothing stopping Canadian new light vehicle sales, on track to post a stunning 6th consecutive all-time record and 9th consecutive gain with First Half deliveries up 0.2% to a new record 1.041.757 units. However at end June the market was on a 4-month streak of consecutive year-on-year declines, something that had only happened once before this decade in Canada (July-October 2016). According to local consultancy Desrosiers whose figures are slightly lower due to the absence of some luxury brands such as Tesla, light trucks continue to pull the market up at +4.1% to 728.185 sales and a record 70.2% share vs. 67.3% over the same period in 2017 whereas passenger cars sink 9.2% to 308.492 and just 29.8% share vs. 32.7% a year ago.

Mitsubishi gains 17.7% partly thanks to the arrival of the Eclipse Cross.

Group-wise, Ford Motor (-2.9%) remains in the lead but General Motors (+3%) ends the Semester just 633 sales below just as FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles dives 11.1% to 12.9%, losing the 2nd place in the process. Toyota Motor (+1.6%) and Honda Motor (+0.9%) round up the Top 5, kicking Hyundai-Kia (-4.9%) down to #6. The Volkswagen Group (+13.9%) and Jaguar-Land Rover (+8%) perform best below. In the brands ranking, Ford (-2.9%) remains comfortably in the lead ahead of Toyota (+2.4%) while Chevrolet (+6.5%) climbs onto the podium, knocking Honda (+0.8%) down to #4. Jeep (+21.5%) and Mazda (+5.9%) also shine in the Top 10, with Volvo (+42.6%), Mitsubishi (+17.7%), Volkswagen (+16.7%), Land Rover (+14.7%) and Audi (+10.5%) also scoring double-digit gains further down. Tesla surges 217% to just under 5.000 units, thanks to an all-time record in June. Below 1.000 sales over the period, Alfa Romeo (+298.2%) and Genesis (+159.2%) shoot up.

Volkswagen is up 16.7% thanks to the Tiguan.

Over in the models aisle, the Ford F-Series (-8%) is comfortably headed towards a 10th consecutive year as the best-selling vehicle in Canada and 15 wins over the past 16 years (only interruption was by the Honda Civic in 2008), but a steep decline means no more volume records. The Ram Pickup (-16%) and Honda Civic (-4%) also dive but hold onto their 2017 ranking. The Chevrolet Silverado (+8%) overtakes its posh twin the GMC Sierra (-5%) to snap the 4th spot overall, making it 4 full-size pickups in the Top 5, one more than in the neighbouring U.S. The Honda CR-V (+18%) leaps past the Toyota RAV4 (+5%) to grab the SUV crown with the Ford Escape (+1%) and Nissan Rogue (-1%) both breaking into the Top 10 to make it 4 SUVs in the Top 10 and just two passenger cars: the Civic and Toyota Corolla (-11%).

The Hyundai Kona is the most popular new launch over the period.

Further down the ranking, the Nissan Qashqai (+821%), Jeep Compass (+186%), VW Tiguan (+104%), Jeep Wrangler (+99%), Subaru Crosstrek (+97%), Mitsubishi Outlander (+60%), Mazda CX-3 (+40%), Audi Q5 (+31%), Honda Odyssey (+28%) and Toyota Tundra (+25%) make themselves noticed – that’s 8 SUVs in the 10 biggest gainers… Only one recent launch (<12 months) manages to crack the Canadian Top 50: the Hyundai Kona at #43, it is followed by the Ford Ecosport (#86), Tesla Model 3 (#109) up to #25 in June, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (#147), Kia Stinger (#164) and Range Rover Velar (#169).

Previous post: Canada June 2018: Chevrolet strong, Tesla (+524%) breaks into Top 20

One year ago: Canada June 2017: Ford F-Series hits record, 3rd month above 200.000 units

Full H1 2018 Top 15 groups, Top 37 brands and Top 285 models vs. Full H1 2017 figures below.