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New motor vehicle sales
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Sales of new motor vehicles rose 6.3% in March to 122,194 units. It was the largest monthly growth since January 2008. This increase was mainly due to higher sales of trucks.
Preliminary industry data for April indicate that the number of new motor vehicles sold was essentially unchanged from March.
Truck sales stronger
Sales of new trucks (which include minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses) were up 11.0% to 60,577 units in March. This rise more than offset the decline in truck sales in February.
Sales of passenger cars rose 2.0% to 61,617 units. Sales have been increasing slowly for three months following strong declines at the end of 2008.
Sales up in all provinces
The number of new motor vehicles sold in March rose in all provinces. The main contributor to the increase at the national level was Quebec, whose 10.4% rise in sales accounted for around 45% of the national increase. The increases in the province for February and March more than offset the 14% decline in sales between October 2008 and January 2009.
Sales in Ontario were up for the third consecutive month, rising 5.8%. The lowest growth rate was a 1.8% increase in Alberta.
Available on CANSIM: table 079-0003.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2402.
The March 2009 issue of New Motor Vehicle Sales (63-007-X, free) will be available soon.
Note to readers
The unadjusted data of new motor vehicle sales in dollars have been revised back to January 2007.
Data on new motor vehicle sales for April will be released on June 15.
For more information or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-877-421-3067; 613-951-3549; retailinfo@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Jian Zhu (613-951-4906), Distributive Trades Division.
Table 1
| March 2008 | February 2009r | March 2009p | March 2008 to March 2009 | February to March 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 148,437 | 114,995 | 122,194 | -17.7 | 6.3 |
| Passenger cars | 80,161 | 60,417 | 61,617 | -23.1 | 2.0 |
| North American1 | 48,885 | 34,553 | 35,641 | -27.1 | 3.1 |
| Overseas | 31,276 | 25,864 | 25,976 | -16.9 | 0.4 |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 68,276 | 54,578 | 60,577 | -11.3 | 11.0 |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,552 | 2,041 | 2,201 | -13.8 | 7.8 |
| Prince Edward Island | 498 | 366 | 437 | -12.2 | 19.4 |
| Nova Scotia | 4,844 | 3,544 | 3,694 | -23.7 | 4.2 |
| New Brunswick | 3,363 | 2,520 | 2,762 | -17.9 | 9.6 |
| Quebec | 37,883 | 31,470 | 34,736 | -8.3 | 10.4 |
| Ontario | 51,574 | 42,337 | 44,781 | -13.2 | 5.8 |
| Manitoba | 4,289 | 3,342 | 3,524 | -17.8 | 5.4 |
| Saskatchewan | 4,444 | 3,472 | 3,654 | -17.8 | 5.2 |
| Alberta | 21,764 | 14,687 | 14,946 | -31.3 | 1.8 |
| British Columbia2 | 17,226 | 11,216 | 11,459 | -33.5 | 2.2 |
| March 2008 | February 2009r | March 2009p | March 2008 to March 2009 | ||
| unadjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 153,505 | 82,039 | 129,845 | -15.4 | |
| Passenger cars | 80,124 | 40,786 | 65,695 | -18.0 | |
| North American1 | 50,287 | 23,129 | 38,347 | -23.7 | |
| Overseas | 29,837 | 17,657 | 27,348 | -8.3 | |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 73,381 | 41,253 | 64,150 | -12.6 | |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,530 | 1,188 | 2,234 | -11.7 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 452 | 239 | 417 | -7.7 | |
| Nova Scotia | 4,990 | 2,445 | 4,098 | -17.9 | |
| New Brunswick | 3,509 | 1,717 | 2,958 | -15.7 | |
| Quebec | 39,517 | 21,501 | 38,272 | -3.2 | |
| Ontario | 53,765 | 30,303 | 47,318 | -12.0 | |
| Manitoba | 4,521 | 2,287 | 3,643 | -19.4 | |
| Saskatchewan | 4,368 | 2,386 | 3,795 | -13.1 | |
| Alberta | 22,250 | 11,102 | 15,152 | -31.9 | |
| British Columbia2 | 17,603 | 8,871 | 11,958 | -32.1 | |
