January new car sales up 0.3 percent

January is historically a troubling month for vehicle sales and not necessarily just because of the weather. According to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, the primary problem with January sales numbers lies with year-end numbers in the previous month.

In December some vehicle companies are under tremendous pressure to meet specific sales targets and will often go to extraordinary lengths to move product off of dealer lots. DesRosiers says they often see double digit increases in December as sales are pulled forward followed by double digit decreases in January when reality sets in. Add some bad weather into the mix and it is near impossible to identify sales trends based on January sales. January is also the smallest sales month each year so any trend that is apparent can easily be turned around once sales pick up.

That being said, sales in January were up by 0.3 percent which is a positive sign given the number of units pulled forward into December and the bad weather that rocked much of the nation. Import nameplates were the big winners with sales up 8.5 percent for the month while Detroit based sales were down by 8.1 percent.  Import nameplates accounted for 54.9 percent of sales. Chrysler was the Detroit winner with sales up 3.9 percent (below the market but still positive), which put them number one in the overall market. Chrysler has started the last few years as the best-selling brand only to be over taken by Ford by mid-year. Chrysler racked up a big lead in January so it will be interesting to see how this battle plays out during the year. Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers delivered a total of 10,991 vehicles last month, 20.1 percent below January 2012’s sales figures.

A notable import nameplate was Volkswagen, which started off 2014 with its 25th consecutive month of record sales. January’s total of 3,683 represented a 9 percent increase over the previous record set just last year.

Trucks continue to sell well, and were up by 4.7 percent and accounted for 61.6 percent of the market, marking a new high. Passenger car sales were down by 5.9 percent.

Overall, Desrosiers has been cautious in drawing any firm conclusions with these sales totals. The consulting company says it will take a few months for the “gaming” to work its way through the market and the true trends may not begin to be visible until the spring. 

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Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. (DAC), Global Automakers of Canada (GAC), Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA).