New car sales in Canada dropped by almost per cent during November. Automotive analytics company DesRosiers Automotive Consultants says automakers sold 110,448 units last month, a full 13.9 per cent less than November 2020. Interestingly, the Canadian market has posted larger sales drops in previous months.
“While the percentage drop was somewhat better than in September (-19.6%) and October (-17.7%), the more important [seasonally adjusted annual rate] was weak – falling to 1.45 million – the lowest level we have seen since the initial lockdowns of Spring 2020,” DAC managing partner Andrew King said.
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Autonews notes that DesRosiers figures are estimates because just 10 of the 45 automotive brands in Canada report monthly sales. Among those that do is Hyundai and Genesis, both of which posted sales increases across November compared with the same month last year. Sales at Hyundai jumped by 2 per cent to 9,840 units while sales over at Genesis soared by 199 per cent, to 427 units.
“First, the Hyundai and Genesis lineups are outstanding, as proven by the awards we’ve been honored with for a number of new models,” Hyundai Canada chief executive Don Romano said in a statement. “Second, our retail partners are committed to providing exceptional customers service, with both brands being in the top five according to JD Power. Third, our new business model of providing a hassle-free, digital customer journey is proving to be successful.”
DesRosiers notes that the vast majority of brands that posted sales declines in November actually posted double-digit drops. In fact, Honda was the only one that didn’t, reporting an 8.4 per cent decrease to 9,291 units.
Mazda and Kia took the biggest hits with sales plummeting by 46.6 per cent to 2,975 units for Mazda and by 34 per cent to 4,095 units for Kia.
