Decreases in new auto sales were the norm across the country for August, but there were a couple of notable exceptions, according to the latest sales report from DesRosiers. The report states “While the majority of provinces noted new light vehicle sales decreases, Saskatchewan noted an estimated 3.5% increase in sales for the month with the province outperforming the market year-to-date as well, for Saskatchewan dealers sales were down just 6.8% for the year thus far, compared to the 12.7% decrease for the overall market.”
“The overall new light vehicle sales picture continues to be disappointing at nearly all levels of granularity” commented Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC. “However, certain regions, much like certain brands, are showing some clear signs of life.”
Newfoundland also outperformed the market in August with a 6.2% sales decrease “despite still showing the largest year-to-date decrease among the provinces,” said the report. Alberta, not far off, posted a 7.1% sales decrease for the month.
Ontario experienced a 16.3% sales decrease for August “despite noting the second-best year-to-date performance for 2022 thus far.” Total new light vehicle sales across Canada settled at an estimated 126,534 units sold, down 13.9% from the 146,925 units sold in August of 2021.
