Canada Car/Light Truck Sales : 2024

Sales data from Canada is poor these days, not the sort normally associated with a country with Canada's status. As for the figures, some are from the manufacturers, some from other sources and others are estimates. So take them as a reasonable guide only.

With a total 10% increase in sales and the 'Diff' column reflecting market share change, anything down by up to 10% either broke even or had some increase in sales. Ford took its lead to a comfortable position. Stellantis brands did their usual drop due to what seems a policy they have decided on. 

Canada Top 50 Models : 2023

Japanese car brands have a strong presence in Canada. US brands do well at the top with truck models but when it comes to cars, Japanese models are often preferred. 

Canada Light Vehicle Sales : 2023

It's not that easy to get data for this market and it's getting worse. Ford said it would only supply sales figures once a year but if they did, they did a good job of not living up to their word. Both the Ford brand and Lincoln brands both lost market share so a possible reason for being so elusive. 

Despite Ford playing hardball, it is at least still the leading nameplate. Some of the data is estimated so it may not be as accurate as desired. What it does do is give a reasonably correct total by which other more open brands can be assessed in terms of market share. 

The 'Diff' column shows market share change, an incrase around 13%, a nice result after some indifferent years before. For some of the smaller brands that I don't have data at all for I've combined them an estimated 'Others'. 

It surprises me that companies are increasingly providing sales figures with less detail, less often or not at all when not obliged to share it. Tesla doesn't bother at all which leaves me with an impression of cockiness and arrogance. It may be a wrong conclusion but that's how I feel about that stance. Anyway, I'd like to give a big thumbs up to those brands who are still releasing sales data. Japanese brands in particular are more open and most US ones too. 

Data source: Various. 

Canada PU Truck Sales : 2020-22

Canada is very similar to the US in many ways and vehicle purchasing is very much one of them. The differences with pickup trucks are some models switch places, GMC is more popular (not in volume of course) and US brands run at 95% share, rather than 90% in the US. That last point of difference did surprise me.  

Overall, pickup truck sales account for 11% of the US market and 14% of Canada's. I can't say that surprised me simply because I didn't know enough to have an opinion. If anyone wants to enlighten me more on the subject, please leave a comment. You don't have to register to do so but they don't appear immediately nor will they appear at all if being used to advertise something.

Canada Top 50 Models : 2022

Until recently it was an unwritten law that car companies in North America released vehicle sales voluntarily. A few in the US have ceased while in Canada it is now rare outside of North American brands to release anything. Is that still the standard?

I trawled through car company websites for media releases but ended with mixed results. Rather than have some party poopers ruin the event, I decided to release the statistics of those who still wish us to know how their models are doing. Only fair.

So which car companies are still releasing full model lists at the end of the year? I want to give them some credit because openness deserves acknowledgment. So here they are (to your right):

Ford (Ford and Lincoln), GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC), Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan (Infiniti and Nissan) Porsche, Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge/RAM, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Fiat). 

The Ford F-Series is still top as expected. US brands always do well here as do Asian ones. I didn't compare rankings with 2021 as some models are missing (but not missed). There's plenty to mull over here so enjoy the list below and appreciate their openness. 

If more data comes to light or if anyone wants to inform me where more statistics are to be found, please let me know. 

Data source: Manufacturers, media.

Canada Sales : 2022

Registrations for December were +1% and for the complete year -9%. Not a bad result. The '+/- diff' column below is for market share change. Ford is top and moving ahead still further. Toyota maintained an easy second place from Chevrolet, pipping Hyundai. 

Honda has enjoyed much success here as a domestic manufacturer but was well down on last year and surrendered nearly two full percentage points in market share. GMC, Ram and Jeep have moved up at the expense of some Asian brands. It seems American brands have generally done well. 

Please note that some of the smaller brands are estimates. They have misplaced their calculator at the Porsche Canada HQ so I had to estimate that figure as well. A few others are not listed such as Aston Martin and Lotus. 

Data source: AN Canada.

Canada Top 50 Sales By Model : 2021

There is a noticeable difference between the USA and Canada for their respective Top 50 lists. I colour coded the list to show where brands historically originated. That understandably shows the US has more home brand product. In Canada Asian brands are much stronger numerically and where they are positioned on the chart. Europe gets a few more too. The same top two for both US and Canada but after that it is variable. 

Canada Sales : 2021

Registrations were +7% for the year so a better than average result. The '+/-' column below is comparing market share variance for 2021 against 2020. Ford didn't have a great year, possibly due to supply being an issue. At least it is still at the top, unlike it's southern neighbour. US brand generally didn't do well though. 

Toyota is closing in on the #1 position and the way Ford is pulling back on passenger car sales, it's probably only a matter of when rather than if. Toyota was top in 2008 but that's the only time it has ever been in that position. Dodge seems to be a brand needing some help. I thought models within the Stelantis Group could be added or used as suitable replacements but for now, at least that possibly has been dismissed. 

There are some smaller luxury brands that also sell here but the data is usually estimated because it is not readily available. A few others are impossible to even estimate.  

Canada Top 50 Models : 2020

Apparently, it snows in Canada?

Getting reliable data is an increasingly difficult task. I held off with this post because I wasn't happy with the quality. It's better now but there could be a few minor discrepancies. The 20% drop in sales in Canada is reflected in the amount of yellow on display. Some models did manage to increase.

Ford is the leader with the F-Series but no surprise there. Next is what I call the Dodge Ram P/U, although RAM became a stand-alone division in 2020 when it was separated from Dodge. The Chevrolet Silverado had a good year as did the GMC Sierra. Pick up trucks are the big models in Canada as they are south of the border.

The Ford Ranger is back

Canada Top Nameplates Graph : 2000-20

                                  Canadian number one in summer...

The list doesn't show all the nameplates from the year 2000 that have graced the higher echelons of the Canadian car business. It does show the most prominent ones overall. Dodge and Ram are combined. It's not one of the prettier charts but still tells a story.

At the top for all but two years is Ford. The Blue Oval has displayed consistency through all of the 21st century so far. Chevrolet took the lead in 2005 and Toyota for 2008 but otherwise, it's been blue. Chevrolet has been unable to replicate Ford's staying power and is slipping away in more recent years. 

The Dodge/Ram combine has been up there throughout and not suffered much in the way of highs and lows. Toyota and Honda have led the Japanese assault with some distinction but neither can match Ford's success. 

                                                       ..and in winter too

Canada Premium Comparison : 2018-20

Mercedes passed the BMW Group in 2015 and consolidated its advantage in 2020. Audi passed the BMW brand but not due to any heroics on its part but rather due to the Bavarian having a poor year. Cadillac passed JLR and Tesla just managed to hold on the its 8th place. Volvo, Porsche and Lincoln all gained share but Infiniti is pulling back on sales. 

Updated 23.03.2021.

Canada Car/Light Truck Sales : 2020

With many brands only reporting quarterly in North America, it has made getting accurate data challenging. Sources are more variable too. Registrations were down 6% in the final quarter of 2020 and the YTD figure is -20% so a strong end to the year. Below, green shows an increase in sales, pale blue decrease in sales but a gain in market share and yellow down on both counts.

Putting the emphasis on market share shows that Ford improved by 0.4% to take its total to 15.0%. American brand Ram is now up to 6th and Nissan down two to 8th. Of course, in turbulent times one could read too much into fluctuations. However, some trends are still discernible.

Updated: 23.03.2021.

Snapshot : Canada 2000

The new Dodge Caravan came out in 2000.
It was the best selling model for the year

We go back in time to the beginning of the century. Below are sales by all the main brands, the 60 best selling models and a bonus section of the 23 best selling premium models. The data is as accurate as I can get, but sources can vary. For readers from Canada, it will surely bring back memories of brands since deleted but very much part of the landscape back then.

Brands: The US provided fourteen brands, unsurprising back then but different from today. Plymouth was on the way out and others would follow soon enough. Japanese brands were well established and the Korean duo were much the same. Europeans were trying with some success.

Models: The U.S. had 40 of the of top 60. Dodge was top with its Grand Caravan MPV. Ford closely followed with its popular F-Series and the locally made Honda Civic was third.

Premium: Japanese marques did very well here, Acura in particular. Lincoln and Cadillac had a couple of entries each.

Brand				Model
1	Ford	270,353	USA	1	Dodge	Grand Caravan	87,737
2	Chevrolet	201,038	Brands	2	Ford	F-Series	71,115
3	Dodge	147,936	14	3	Honda	Civic	60,407
4	Toyota	118,339	Models	4	Ford	Windstar	49,636
5	Honda	114,765	40	5	Ford	Focus	48,598
6	Pontiac	114,479		6	Chevrolet	Cavalier	45,966
7	Chrysler	94,218	Japan	7	Chevrolet	Silverado	41,236
8	GMC	71,713	Brands	8	Pontiac	Sunfire	41,098
9	Mazda	52,070	10	9	Toyota	Corolla	40,692
10	VW	43,138	Models	10	GMC	Sierra	35,159
11	Nissan	43,063	15	11	Chrysler	Neon	31,351
12	Hyundai	39,066		12	Mazda	Protege	30,701
13	Oldsmobile	30,156	Europe	13	Dodge	Ram P/U	29,124
14	Jeep	26,491	Brands	14	Ford	Taurus	27,291
15	Buick	23,687	9	15	Pontiac	Montana	26,906
16	Saturn	22,449	Models	16	Pontiac	Grand Am	26,876
17	Acura	19,901	3	17	Chevrolet	Venture	24,759
18	Subaru	14,609		18	Honda	Accord	24,635
19	Kia	13,343	Korea	19	Toyota	Echo	24,615
20	Mercedes	12,457	Brands	20	Chevrolet	Malibu	24,389
21	BMW	11,022	3	21	Ford	Explorer	23,201
22	Suzuki	10,575	Models	22	Chrysler	Intrepid	22,935
23	Volvo	8,539	2	23	VW	Jetta	22,455
24	Lincoln	6,417		24	Saturn	L-Series	22,449
25	Cadillac	6,042		25	Hyundai	Accent	21,948
26	Audi	5,992		26	Toyota	Camry	21,816
27	Mercury	5,812		27	Dodge	Dakota	18,124
28	Lexus	5,257		28	Oldsmobile	Alero	17,347
29	Infiniti	4,340		29	Jeep	Grand Cherok	15,842
30	Daewoo	4,011		30	Chevrolet	Impala	14,784
31	Jaguar	2,325		31	Pontiac	Grand Prix	14,771
32	Saab	1,555		32	Ford	E-Series	14,534
33	Porsche	1,292		33	Honda	CR-V	13,613
34	Isuzu	1,253		34	Honda	Odyssey	13,512
35	Land Rover	1,015		35	Nissan	Sentra	11,998
36	Plymouth	143		36	Chrysler	PT Cruiser	11,091
Premium				37	Toyota	Sienna	11,042
1	Acura	EL	7,997	38	Buick	Century	10,964
2	Volvo	80/70 Ser	6,270	39	Chrysler	Cirrus	10,851
3	BMW	3-Series	6,047	40	Chevrolet	Blazer	10,423
4	Acura	TL	5,714	41	GMC	Jimmy	10,169
5	Mercedes	C-Cl/CLK	4,612	42	VW	Golf	10,003
6	Mercedes	M-Class	4,147	43	Nissan	Pathfinder	9,481
7	Acura	Integra	3,781	44	Mazda	MPV	9,115
8	Audi	A4	3,371	45	Nissan	Maxima	8,534
9	Cadillac	De Ville	3,013	46	Hyundai	Elantra	8,045
10	Lexus	RX	2,663	47	Dodge	Durango	8,015
11	Infiniti	QX4	2,296	48	Acura	EL	7,997
12	Volvo	40/50 Ser	2,105	49	Ford	Mustang	7,936
13	Mercedes	E-Class	2,012	50	Ford	Ranger	7,854
14	BMW	5-Series	2,000	51	GMC	Yukon	7,760
15	Lincoln	Town Car	1,963	52	Nissan	Altima	7,579
16	BMW	X5	1,840	53	Subaru	Legacy	7,477
17	Audi	A6	1,722	54	Chevrolet	Astro	7,432
18	Cadillac	Seville	1,603	55	Buick	LeSabre	7,283
19	Lincoln	Navigator	1,521	56	GMC	Safari	7,254
20	Mercedes	S-Class	1,459	57	Oldsmobile	Intrigue	6,991
21	Infiniti	I	1,439	58	Chevrolet	Express	6,674
22	Jaguar	S-Type	1,250	59	Chevrolet	S10	6,573
23	Acura	CL	1,217	60	Volvo	80/70 Series	6,270