The impact of Canada exporting younger vehicles

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants recently detailed the scale and composition of Canadian used vehicles flowing into the U.S., revealing significant implications for both new and used markets in Canada.

The data, published in the DesRosiers Used Vehicle Report, showed that hundreds of thousands of Canadian vehicles crossed the border in 2024, with exports heavily weighted toward younger models.

According to DAC, 40.1 per cent of exported vehicles were zero to two years old, while 34.7 per cent were three to five years old. Off-lease units, luxury models and pickups dominated the mix.

“In recent years, hundreds of thousands of young Canadian used vehicles have been flowing to the U.S. each year,” said Andrew King, managing partner at DAC. “The unclear nature and application of the tariffs introduced by the U.S. administration has thoroughly muddied the waters on what future patterns will be and on the consequences for the Canadian market.”

This trend aligns with comments made by Todd Campau, then-aftermarket leader at S&P Global Mobility, who noted that exports of vehicles from Canada to the U.S. have helped keep Canada’s car parc steady and its average vehicle age lower than in the U.S. — 10.5 years compared to more than 12.5 years in America. The outflow of younger vehicles reduces domestic supply, influencing pricing and sales volumes for used cars in Canada.

“There’s been a stronger dollar, there’s the high demand for vehicles in the U.S. And so importers in the U.S. have been very successful grabbing vehicles here and selling them there for profit,” Campau said in 2024.

DAC says brand-level data now available will be critical for automakers to understand the impact on Canadian operations as trade dynamics and tariff policies evolve.

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