Canada August 2026: Subaru (+31.8%) stands out in solid market

Subaru Forester sales are up 56.4% in August

Note: This article only contains data for the brands reporting monthly.

According to local consultancy DesRosiers Automotive, the Canadian new light vehicle market is estimated to grow 5.4% year-on-year in August to 168,000 units. We remain well below the average of 180,000+ sales over the 2017-2019 period but it’s still a positive result, especially in the current unpredictable trade issues at play. The SAAR for the month climbs to 1.86 million units vs. 1.76 million in August 2025. The year-to-date volume is stable at 1,290,000 units.

Among OEMs still reporting monthly, Honda Canada is up 4.8%, Toyota advances 2.9% and Hyundai-Kia is stable at +0.6%. Brand-wise, the best performer is Subaru up 31.8% YoY, with Lexus (+10.9%) also in great shape. All upticks remain below 5%, with Honda up 4.9% and Acura up 3.9%. Toyota gains 1.8%, Genesis 1.6%, Hyundai 0.6% and Kia 0.4%.

As for models with available monthly data, the Toyota RAV4 (-5.7%) is in trouble again but outsells its archenemy the Honda CR-V (+24.8%). It trails the latter by 43 units year-to-date. Excellent results for the Subaru Forester (+56.4%), Toyota Corolla (+45.6%), Toyota Corolla Cross (+38.9%), Kia Sportage (+31.6%), Hyundai Tucson (+23.6%), Hyundai Elantra (+18.4%) and Honda Civic (+16.3%).

Previous month: Canada July 2026: Subaru (+28.7%), Toyota (+8.7%) impress in stable market

One year ago: Canada August 2025: Hyundai (+20.2%), Toyota (+16%) best performers in negative market 

Full August 2026 data for selected OEMs, brands and models below.