There was definitely hope for the automotive industry in Canada when DesRosiers Automotive Consultants estimated that Canadian light vehicle sales for May would come in at 159,705 units — an increase of 13.5% from May 2022 and up 10.9% from April 2023.
That number is noteworthy when considering that May is more often than not the strongest sales month of the year (eight times between 2010-2019), but has not performed as expected since the pandemic, according to DAC.
“The SAAR for the month came in at 1.54 million units — thankfully breaking a run of three months of consecutive declines and definitely a positive sign of improved vehicle availability across a broader array of manufacturers,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner of DAC, in a statement.
Prior to 2023, DAC said the last three years followed very different patterns from what May typically delivered in terms of sales results. The first pandemic had a big impact on sales, as did the semiconductor shortage, which means the traditional spring selling season “failed to materialize.”
“While May 2023 did offer hope, it should be noted that there is still a long way to go,” said DAC in its sales update. “To put things in context, May 2023 sales were still 21.0% below the 202,141 units sold in May 2019.”
However, they said there is still some optimism: most economic variables continue to be robust, and the pending recession has not yet arrived. The upside now is that the market may be able to build on this base and enjoy a stronger summer of sales.
