After a brief reprieve in August, Canadian auto sales in September fell back into the trend of decline that has defined the industry for 17 of the past 18 months. Estimated sales of 166,488 new vehicles in September were down by 3.7% from the same month last year, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
Year-to-date, through the first three quarters, estimated sales of 1,565,910 units were down by 4.1% from 2018, although Q3 sales were off just 1.5%, making it the best quarter of the year so far. September’s SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Sales Rate) was still relatively strong at about 1.97-million, according to DAC.
Dennis Desrosiers says the market is still on track to break the 1.9-million mark for the full year, which would make it the fourth-best year ever. And, as David Adams, president of Global Automakers of Canada observes, “those companies with newer product offerings, and offerings in the light-duty truck ‘wheelhouse’ of the market, will probably continue to do well.”
All of September’s net decline can be attributed to the passenger segment, whose sales were down by 18.0%. Sales for the light truck/utility vehicle segment were up by 1.9%, claiming 75.7% of the market for the month. Year-to-date, light trucks accounted for 73.9% of all sales, with passenger cars at just 26.1%.
Detroit Three all down
Ford retained its traditional top ranking for September, in spite of a 4.2% sales decline to 25,407 units. Year-to-date sales of 231,693 vehicles were down by 3.1% but still ahead of the market average, keeping market share up 0.1% at 15.4%.
With 23,346 September sales, General Motors’ 8.7% decline from last year was the greatest of the Detroit Three, leaving its 203,609 year-to-date sales down by 12.2%. As a result, GM’s market share has fallen by 1.2% to 13.6% — the greatest share decline in the industry.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles claimed third place again in September with 17,487 sales – a decline of 1.2% but the best year-over-year performance of the D3 and slightly better than the market average. Through the first nine months, FCA’s 178,674 total sales were down just 3.9% — again, slightly ahead of the market average — keeping its market share steady at 11.9%.
Combined, Detroit Three sales were down by 5.1% in September, accounting for 40.9%% of the overall market — a decline of 1.1% from a year ago.
Toyota maintained its usual fourth place ranking in September with an unusual-for-the-brand sales decline of 6.3% to 16,899 units. Year-to-date sales of 164,996 units were still up 4.5% from the same period last year, however, keeping Toyota’s market share ahead of last year by 0.9%, at 11.0% — the best share increase in the industry.
Fifth-place Honda also saw September sales decline, by 5.0% to 14,671 units. Year-to-date, Honda’s 134,599 sales were down 3.7% from last year, slightly ahead of the market, so market share was up by 0.1%, to 9.0%.
Continued strength from Hyundai and Kia
Pulling further ahead of Nissan, in sixth place, Hyundai’s 11,918 sales were up 2.1% from last year. Year-to-date sales of 103,149 units were up by 3.5%, increasing Hyundai’s market by 0.5% to 6.9%, a share gain surpassed only by Toyota.
Nissan maintained its seventh-place sales ranking in September, with 10,376 units sold, down 13.0% from a year ago. As a result, Nissan’s year-to-date sales of 97,776 units were down by 8.0% and market-share fell by 0.3% to 6.5%.
Kia solidified its hold on eighth place with 6,227 sales, up 15.3% from last September and the Korean brand’s 62,227 year-to-date sales, up by 4.1%, pushed its market share up 0.3% to 4.0%.
Volkswagen and Mazda’s battle for ninth place fell to the German brand in September, with sales of 6,100 units for the month, a 7.8% decline. VW’s 52,162 cumulative sales through the first nine months were down by 4.0%, about equal with the market, maintaining its market share at 3.5%.
Mazda, in 10th place, sold 5,843 new vehicles in September, lagging the market slightly with a 4.2% decline. Its 51,417 total sales for the year-to-date were down 12.5%, however, reducing market share by 0.4% to 6.4%.
While solidly established in 11th place, Subaru’s September sales fell by 15.4% to 4,755 units. As a result, year-to-date sales of 42,048 new vehicles dropped 3.5% behind year-ago figures, maintaining market share at 2.8%.
Mercedes-Benz’s sales increased by 4.8% in September, maintaining 12th place overall and premium-brand leadership for the month and the year-to-date, ahead of BMW and Audi in that order.
Winners and losers
On a percentage basis, the biggest gainers in August were Lexus (+21.0%), Mitsubishi (+15.5%), Kia (+15.3%), Volvo (+12.3%) and Acura (+10.7%).
The biggest losers, in percentage terms, were Smart (-21.3%), Infinity (-20.3%), Jaguar (-18.8%), Subaru (-15.4%), and Nissan (-13.0%).
It should be noted that the total market sales figures reported here are now estimated by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), given that Fiat Chrysler Automobile and General Motors now report actual sales only on a quarterly basis. These estimated monthly results are reconciled quarterly by DAC to reflect actual sales when those companies report officially.
