Following announcements by the federal government about immigration targets, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants has decided to look at the impact of Canada’s growing population on vehicle sales.
The firm noticed that much focus has been on the pandemic, semiconductor shortages and inventory issues, but that the rapidly increasing Canadian population has not received enough consideration. In considering the new light vehicle sales market from a population perspective, DAC found that the number of Canadians of driving age (around 15 years and over) increased by a noteworthy 2.2 million people between 2017 and 2022.
“When population growth is taken into account, the ground that the Canadian new light vehicle sales market needs to re-capture widens,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC.
When considering the situation from a sales perspective, DAC said sales of new light vehicles among reporting OEMs climbed to 67 units per 1,000 people aged 15 and over during 2017 — a peak sales year. Now, with declining sales and an increasing population, that figure has since decreased 32% by 2022 — and now sits at 45 vehicles per 1,000 driving aged population.
However, DAC also noted that “2023 has seen a pattern of sustained sales increases thus far and rising population should support additional market demand in the medium and long terms.”
