New vehicle sales rose 5.3 percent in May
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According to automotive consultants, DesRosier, new car sales rose by 5.3 percent in May. This number is slightly off the pace set in April but well above the tepid 2.4 percent year-to-date growth that has characterized the Canadian light vehicle market thus far in 2013.
A total of 185,040 units were sold last month, just a few hundred units shy of the best May on record (2007 @ 185,471 units). With the market’s SAAR presently tracking at a 1.76 million unit level, the deliberate pace of sales gains witnessed over the past few months has prompted us to revise our forecast, adding an additional 10,000-15,000 units to the expected year-end total.
Ford (+0.5% / 32,484 units), Chrysler (+11.3% / 29,010 units) and General Motors (+1.6% / 23,654 units) all finished ahead of their 2012 results, the former two building on prior months’ gains with year-to-date market share gains of 0.6 points each. Resurgent Chrysler is now a consistent second-place player, commanding a share of the market comparable to Ford’s result last year.
Double-digit sales gains were scored by Audi (+17.6%), Honda/Acura (+22.2%), Jaguar (+54.3%), Mitsubishi (+16.5%), Porsche (+28.6%) and Toyota/Lexus (+12.3%). Strong performances – especially among the high volume Japanese brand players which may be receiving much-needed pricing support from a weak yen – helped push the market to its near-record heights.
With the exceptions of Audi and Porsche, German luxury brands experienced uninspiring May sales. BMW/MINI (-13.2%) and Mercedes-Benz/smart (-3.1%) underperformed the market. Premium market competitors Land Rover (+0.9%) and Volvo (-17.8%) also failed to match the national level sales increase of 5.8 percent.
General Motors experienced a 2 per cent increase in sales this month, with Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers delivering 23,654 vehicles in May 2013.
"The Cadillac ATS, the North American Car of the Year, and the Canadian-built XTS are attracting passionate luxury customers to Cadillac," said Marc Comeau, GM of Canada’s vice-president of sales, service and marketing. "These two new vehicles drove Cadillac sales up more than 55 per cent for the month."
May was also very special for Volkswagen Canada as the company reported its best sales result of all-time. A total of 6,315 new cars and sport utility vehicles were delivered to customers last month, 5% above last year’s total of 6,030. Year-to-date sales are also at record-setting levels, with 25,731 vehicles being delivered, bettering last year by 10% (23,362).
"Quality, fuel efficiency and great value have always been hallmarks of our brand," stated Maria Stenstrom, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group Canada. "What sets us apart is the ability to deliver these attributes without sacrificing the unique, fun-to-drive character built into each Volkswagen."
The Jetta remains one of the best-selling cars in Canada. Last month, 2,858 Jettas were delivered. Year-to-date, Jetta sales are up 27% over the same period last year.
Volkswagen Canada has now posted 17 consecutive record months.
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