It wasn’t a great year for Canadian auto sales in 2019, but it wasn’t a bad year either.
Looking at the glass half-empty, 2019’s 1,914,357 total sales were down 3.6% from just a year ago and almost 125,000 short of 2017’s record numbers, as well as the first instance of a sequential year-over-year decline in more than a decade. But from the glass half-full perspective, it was still the fourth-best sales year on record, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
December continued the slow deterioration that has been the norm for almost two years with 109,584 estimated sales, down 4.1% from the same already diminished month last year. Looking longer term, December 2019’s sales were the lowest for the month since 2012, and its SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Sales Rate) of just 1.65-million was the lowest since December 2013, based on DAC figures.
The decline was widespread with 17 of the 26 reporting automakers experiencing negative numbers for the month. An equal number, though not necessarily the same ones, showed declines for the year as well, with some luxury brands particularly hard hit, showing their first major downturn as a group since 2008 according to DAC.
Reflecting a now long-standing trend, passenger car sales fell by 16.1% for the year, while those for light trucks and SUVs increased by 1.6%, leaving market share at 74.7% trucks and SUVs, just 25.3% cars.
Most of the truck-side growth came from SUVs, which collectively accounted for more than 900,000 vehicles — almost 48% of the total market. Sub-compact SUVs were the fastest growing segment with a gain of 28.5% at year-end, according to DesRosiers.
Whether December’s particularly low numbers are an aberration or a prediction of further sales losses remains to be seen. What is certain is that 2020 promises to be another interesting year.
Ford still Number One
With sales of 15,757 units in December, down 1.8% from the same month last year, Ford tallied a total of 287,874 vehicles sold in 2019, easily retaining its Number One sales position, for the fourth year in a row. That annual total was down 3.4% from 2018, just marginally ahead of the market average, keeping the Blue Oval’s market share steady at 15.0%. The Ford F-Series continued to be the best-selling vehicle in the country, by a wide margin, for the 10th consecutive year.
General Motors’ sales of 14,129 vehicles in December were up 2.0% but full-year sales of 256,795 units were down by 10.9% from 2018, leaving GM well behind Ford in second place. As a result, GM’s market share fell 1.1% to 13.4%.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ sales increased by 7.8% to 12,855 units in December, albeit from a particularly low base in 2018, bringing total sales for the year to 223,101 vehicles. That figure was just 0.8% below 2018’s total, however, making FCA the only member of the Detroit Three to significantly outperform the market average and bumping its market share by 0.4% to 11.7%.
Having surpassed FCA for third place a few months in 2019, Toyota ranked fourth in December and for the year-as-a-whole, with sales of 11,500 and 211,551 vehicles for those periods, respectively. Those December numbers were down 18.7% from a year ago but Toyota’s annual sales increased by 1.9%, resulting in a market share increase of 0.6%, to 11.1% — a tie for the greatest improvement in the industry.
It is worth noting that if the Toyota and Lexus sales figures were combined, as is the practice for the Detroit Three brands, that combination would rank third overall in sales. It is also noteworthy that the Toyota RAV4 was the best-selling SUV in 2019 and that it outsold the Honda Civic, Canada’s perennial best-selling car.
Hyundai threatens Honda
While Honda is usually on a plane of its own in fifth place, Hyundai usurped that position for December with 7,807 vehicles sold, an increase of 15.5% from a year ago. The Korean brand remained in sixth for the full year, with 133,207 sales, but that figure represents a 4.2% increase and a share gain of 0.6% to 7.0% — tied with Toyota for the greatest improvement in the industry. Hyundai has been gaining throughout the year and, should that trend continue, could give Honda a real challenge for fifth place in 2020.
Honda sold 7,468 vehicles in December, a decline of 17.1%, leaving it in sixth place for the month. Full-year sales of 169,047 units were down by 3.4%, slightly ahead of the market average, keeping Honda’s market share steady at 8.8%. Despite declining sales, the Honda Civic remained Canada’s best-selling passenger car for the year.
After finishing sixth in 2018, Nissan was relegated to seventh place for both the month and the year. The Japanese brand sold 6,767 units in December, a decline of 20.6% from a year ago, dragging full-year sales down by 9.4% to 123,755 units. As a result, Nissan’s market share dropped by 0.4% to 6.5% — the greatest share loss in the industry.
Subaru leapfrogged Mazda, Volkswagen and Kia to claim eighth place for December, with a 16.8% sales surge to 4,671 units, although it remained 11th for the year-as-a-whole. Full-year sales of 57,524 vehicles were down 0.9% from a year ago but still ahead of market average so Subaru’s share improved by 0.1% to 3.0%.
As a result of Subaru’s December gain, Kia ranked ninth for the month with 4,491 vehicles sold, up 4.4% from a year ago. Following a year-long battle for eighth, however, Kia claimed that position for the year – gaining one spot from 2018. The Korean brand sold 76,630 vehicles in 2019, a gain of 5.0%, resulting in a 0.3% gain in market share to 4.0%.
Volkswagen ranked 10th in December, with an 8.7% decline to 4,471 units sold, but came ninth for the year with 69,153 sales, down 4.2% from 2018. That position was one better than last year and VW’s sales decline was close enough to the market average to keep its market share steady at 3.6%.
Mazda, which ranked eighth in 2018, fell back to 11th place for December and 10th for the full year. The Japanese brand sold 3,660 new vehicles in December, down 8.2% from the same month last year. Cumulative sales of 66,420 units in 2019 were down 10.1% from 2018, diminishing market share by 0.2% to 3.5%.
Mercedes-Benz sold 3,496 new vehicles in December, down 4.2% from 2018, and 45,828 for the full year, a 7.3% decline, to maintain 12th place overall and premium-brand sales supremacy for both periods.
BMW claimed second place in the premium rankings and 13th overall for both the month and the year. Lexus came next on the month, but Audi took that position for the full year.
Winners and losers
On a percentage basis, the greatest gainers in December were Volvo (+28.9%), Subaru (+16.8%), Hyundai (+15.5%), Land Rover (+14.4%), and Audi (+10.8%).
The biggest losers for the month, in percentage terms, were Smart (-100.0%), Maserati (-37.8%), Infiniti (-31.5%), Genesis (-31.4%) and Mitsubishi (-29.1%).
For the full year, the greatest gainers on a percentage basis were Volvo (+10.2%), Lexus (+5.9%), Genesis (+5.8%), Kia (+5.0%), and Hyundai (+4.2%).
The biggest losers for the year, in percentage terms, were Smart (-24.1%), Maserati (-23.4%), Jaguar (-16.4%), Mini (-13.9%) and Infiniti (-12.8%).
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, Ford 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.
* The story has been updated to correct a factual error.
