Canada March 2021: Volumes soar 86.2%, Q1 up 15.6%, General Motors topples Ford

General Motors sales soar 29.6% year-on-year over Q1 2021.

According to estimates by local consultancy DesRosiers, the Canadian new light vehicle market soars 86.2% year-on-year to 175.186 units in March as year-ago volumes (-48%) were impacted by Covid lockdowns put in place slightly earlier than in the U.S.. This figure however remains below the March 2019 tally of 184.150. The Seasonally Adjusted Annualised Rate of sales (SAAR) is up to 1.91 million units vs. 1.84 million last month. The official Q1 2021 tally stands at 384.335 units, up 15.6% on the same period in 2020. DesRosiers, whose total volumes are slightly lower as they don’t include some luxury brands such as Tesla, has light trucks at a record 83.6% of the market vs. 79.2% in Q1 2020, up 21.4% to 316.443 units whereas passenger cars drop -8.9% to 62.287 and just 16.4% share vs. 20.8% a year ago.

In the groups ranking, General Motors (+29.8%) significantly outpaces the market to snap the top spot off Ford (+0.9%) very shy over the period. Toyota Motor (+18.3%) is also very dynamic, as are Hyundai-Kia (+23.2%), and Nissan/Mitsubishi (+20.3%). The VW Group (+16.1%) matches the market while Stellantis (+4.5%) and Honda Motor (+4.3%) are more muted. Brand-wise, Ford (+0.9%) only edges up but easily remains in the top spot, distancing Toyota (+19.6%) just as Chevrolet (+27.9%) overtakes Honda (+0.4%) to land on the third step of the podium. Mazda (+33.9%), GMC (+29.8%), Nissan (+29.4%), Kia (+25.1%) and Hyundai (+20.3%) also secure fantastic gains in the remainder of the Top 10 brands. Further down, Tesla is estimated to grow 67.7%, with Genesis (+171.9%), Chrysler (+170%), Cadillac (+84.9%), Porsche (+83.9%), Alfa Romeo (+50.4%), Volvo (+50.4%), Acura (+45.7%), Jeep (+32.9%) and Audi (+29.3%) also in great shape.

Over in the models ranking, the Ford F-Series (+6%) easily keeps the lead but can’t quite match the market growth rate, it is followed like one year ago by the Ram Pickup (+11.4%) and GMC Sierra (+41.1%) in outstanding shape. The Toyota RAV4 (+44.8%) also impresses and notches up one spot on Q1 2020 to #4, knocking the Chevrolet Silverado (+29.6%) to #5. The Honda Civic (+25.6%) is also strong in 6th ahead of a surging Nissan Rogue (+67.1%) thanks to the new generation. The Nissan Kicks (+66.4%), Subaru Crosstrek (+64.4%), Hyundai Kona (+64%), Toyota Highlander (+53.8%) and Mazda CX-5 (+50.2%) also impress in the remainder of the Top 20. The Chevrolet Trailblazer (#45) is the most popular recent launch (<12 months) above the Tesla Model Y (#53) and Ford Bronco Sport (#72).

Previous month: Canada February 2021: Kia (+3.2%), Hyundai (+1.2%) resist in market down -9.9%

One year ago: Canada March 2020: Market skids -48%, Q1 down -20.8%, GMC up 5%, full-size pickups monopolise Top 4

Full Q1 2021 Top 15 groups, Top 40 brands and Top 290 models below.