Best July in years for new vehicle sales, but…

On first glance, estimates from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants regarding July 2025’s new vehicle sales might seem positive. But open the hood and — while still nothing to get too down about — things may not be as rosy.

Light vehicle sales last month came in at an estimated 172,000 units. That’s up about 7 per cent from the 161,000 in 2024. However, DesRosiers noted, last July was a weak month; this year had an extra selling day and counter-tariff impacts haven’t been felt yet as dealers are mostly selling pre-tariff inventory.

“However, even with those disclaimers, the month was solid — the best July we have seen since 2019 when sales were at 174,000 units,” the consultancy said in its analysis.

That brings the seasonally adjusted annual rate to 1.89 million units.

That’s “below the levels seen in Q1 but certainly ‘resilient’ given the trade situation and resultant uncertainty,” said Andrew King, DesRosiers’ managing partner. “Significantly, the SAAR also showed no deterioration from the levels seen in Q2 — an achievement in itself given the myriad challenges that face the Canadian economy.”

The group also noted that “ZEV sales remained largely dormant.” Tesla made news with an announced $20,000 price cut on its Model Y, but no vehicles are available for several months.

“More importantly, the industry and Canadian consumers badly need both clarity and realism from the federal and provincial governments in regard to future ZEV mandates and incentives,” the analysis said.

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