DesRosiers releases Canadian sales report for May

For the first month since December 2015, light vehicle sales in Canada dropped when looking at year-over-year comparisons.

That being said, the 1.5 percent decline from 197,937 vehicles sold in May 2015 to 194,866 vehicles sold in May 2016 can partially be explained by the number of selling days. This year’s May had less selling days and one less weekend than in 2015. With year-to-date figures still up 5.6 percent (798,089 light vehicles sold versus 755,582 light vehicles sold) a new record at the end of 2016 is still possible assuming that the momentum continues.

Double digit growths were less common this month with luxury manufacturers Volvo (up 18.9 percent), Audi (up 14.8 percent) and Jaguar (up 10.1 percent) as the only vehicle companies reporting growth over 10 percent. On the other end of the spectrum Smart (down 70.7 percent), Acura (down 25.4 percent), General Motors (down 16.5 percent) and Volkswagen (down 10.5 percent) all reported double digit year-over-year decreases.

In terms of year-to-date totals, FCA is leading the country with 124,663 light vehicles sold in 2016 followed by Ford with 121,143 light vehicles sold and General Motors at 104,157 light vehicles sold. Growth-wise, the niche brand smart led all brands with a 85.3 percent YTD growth rate followed by Land Rover and Volvo at 45.4 percent and 39.4 percent respectively.