Canada - Automotive Sales volume, 2025
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*The number of units listed is the number at the time of the announcement.
Flash report, Automotive sales volume, 2025
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Flash report, April 2025
May 7, 2025
*There are cases where recently released data and detailed information in the database do not match up for reasons including different information sources, and discrepancies between preliminary reports and confirmed data.
Canadian vehicle sales up 10.2% in April
On May 2, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants announced that approximately 186,000 light vehicles were sold in April 2025, very similar to March, but up 10.2% from the same month in 2024, signifying it as the best April figures since 2018.
The SAAR for April was 1.90 million, down from the 2+ million numbers seen in Q1, but a solid performance given the political and economic turmoil.
Looking at vehicle mix, light trucks hit a remarkable 88.3% of the market for the month of April, accounting for all the growth in the market while the percentage of passenger car sales continued to decline.
Scotiabank said Canada's auto sales strong start could be driven partially by sales pulled forward from consumers that may have been looking to front-run tariff disruptions. The overall costs from measures and uncertainty around the escalating trade conflict are likely to having lasting effects with some businesses having announced changes to hiring and production plans.
Scotiabank's outlook for Canadian light vehicle sales of 1.84 million in 2025 and 1.83 million in 2026 likely faces downside risk.
| Apr. 2025*1 | Apr. 2024 | Y-o-Y*1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars |
N/A
|
N/A
|
-%
|
| Light Trucks (Pickup Truck, SUV) |
N/A
|
N/A
|
-%
|
| Total*1 |
186,000
|
N/A
|
10.2%
|
*1 Data announced by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
Flash report, March 2025
Apr 3, 2025
*There are cases where recently released data and detailed information in the database do not match up for reasons including different information sources, and discrepancies between preliminary reports and confirmed data.
On April 2, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants announced that approximately 185,000 light vehicles were sold in March 2025, up 11.4% from the same month in 2024 and signifying it as the best March figures since 2018.
The SAAR for March was a robust 2.02 million, broadly in line with February.
“On the BEV front there was some slight recovery from the annihilation seen in February, with a number of the higher volume BEVs seeing modest gains. Sales however remain well below their 2024 highs,” commented Andrew King, Managing Partner of DAC.
While March was a month of change, with tariffs on the horizon and EV incentives disappearing, April will have a number of potentially impactful changes as the carbon tax is gone, and destructive U.S. tariffs are imposed on a global scale.
Highlights from Q1 2025 include:
• Total sales in Q1 2025 reached nearly 425,000 units, up 2.8% from Q1 2024
• General Motors led the market with a 17.3% increase in Q1, with sales reaching 74,000 units.
• Luxury brands had a strong first quarter, with Lexus up 17.6%, BMW up 13.5%, and Mercedes-Benz up 12.8%.
• Light trucks accounted for 88.1% of total sales in Q1 against passenger cars at 11.9%
Canada - Sales of new vehicles by type
| Mar. 2025 | Y-o-Y*1 | Jan.-Mar. 2025 |
Y-o-Y*1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars |
N/A
|
-%
|
N/A
|
-%
|
| Light Trucks (Pickup Truck, SUV) |
N/A
|
-%
|
N/A
|
-%
|
| Total |
185,000
|
11.4%
|
425,000
|
2.8%
|
*1 Data announced by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
Flash report, February 2025
Mar 5, 2025
*There are cases where recently released data and detailed information in the database do not match up for reasons including different information sources, and discrepancies between preliminary reports and confirmed data.
On March 4, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reported that an estimated 122,000 units were sold in Canada in February, down 8.2% from the same month in 2024, which in context was the strongest February ever in Canadian history.
Though higher than the 118,000 units sold in January 2025, February sales also reflect consumer moods as U.S. tariffs approach. Sales of BEVs of all types plummeted as February was the first full month without Federal or Quebec incentives for EV models.
The SAAR for February came in at a healthy 2.0 million units, still maintaining the momentum seen in Q4 2024, though ongoing tariffs will be seen as a mitigating factor going forward.
Canada - Sales of new vehicles by type
| Feb. 2025*1 | Feb. 2024 | Y-o-Y*1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars | N/A | N/A | -% |
| Light Trucks (Pickup Truck, SUV) | N/A | N/A | -% |
| Total*1 | 122,000 | N/A | -8.2% |
*1 Data announced by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
Flash report, January 2025
Feb 5, 2025
*There are cases where recently released data and detailed information in the database do not match up for reasons including different information sources, and discrepancies between preliminary reports and confirmed data.
Canadian auto sales rise 3.1% in January
On February 4, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reported that an estimated 118,000 units were sold in Canada in January, up 3.1% from the same month in 2024, and matching the highest January total that the Canadian market has ever had, back in 2018.
The SAAR for January came in at a strong 2.15 million units, maintaining the momentum seen in Q4 2024.
Despite the overall market growth, key ZEV model sales fell in January, marking an end to the iZEV incentive program, and reduced provincial incentives in Quebec.
Scotiabank said the pause in the incentive program creates more uncertainty as to whether demand for battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will be strong enough to meet the federal government's target of ZEVs accounting for 20% of new vehicle sales by 2026.
While the US imposing tariffs of any level on imports from Canada would have negative impacts on the economic outlook, whether or not Canada responds in-kind could lead to diverging responses from the Bank of Canada.
As of January 16, Scotiabank expected 1.84 million annual auto sales in 2025, upwardly revising its forecast from the previous month.
Canada - Sales of new vehicles by type
| Jan. 2025*1 | Jan. 2024 | Y-o-Y*1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars | N/A | N/A | -% |
| Light Trucks (Pickup Truck, SUV) | N/A | N/A | -% |
| Total | 118,000 | N/A | 3.1% |
Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, MarkLines Data Center
*1 Data announced by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.