‘Mixed and unstable’ new vehicle sales in August: DesRosiers

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) estimates 165,837 new light vehicle sold in Canada during the month of August.

It was a month, says DAC managing partner Andrew King, that saw “mixed and unstable provincial performance across the country.”

The same could also have been said about June and July of this year, he pointed out.

Quebec had seen a sales increase of 3.8% in July lost some ground in August with a 4.1% sales decline.

Newfoundland—which noted a 13.8% sales increase in July—noted a slight decline of 0.9% for the month.

On the other hand, Saskatchewan noted relatively stable sales, with a minor 0.1% increase over August 2019.

The largest percent increase among the provinces was in Prince Edward Island which saw sales rise 15.4% in August, although obviously the low volumes in P.E.I. allow for a greater degree of volatility, he said.

Ontario noted a large decrease of 13.1%, falling over 10,000 units behind August 2019 sales.

The only larger decrease in percentage terms was noted in Nova Scotia at 13.6%.

Year-to-date, all provinces remained well below 2019 figures, a trend that will likely persist throughout the rest of the year.