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The number of new motor vehicles sold remained essentially unchanged in April at 121,290 units, following a strong increase in March. April sales were 8.0% higher than those reported in December 2008, when new motor vehicles sold were at their lowest level in 10 years.
Preliminary industry data for May indicate that the number of new motor vehicles sold was up about 1% from April.
Passenger car and truck sales flat in April
Sales of new trucks (which include minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses) edged down 0.1% to 60,184 units in April. The number of new trucks sold in April was up 11.9% from December 2008.
Passenger car sales in April were essentially the same as in March. A 5.0% sales gain for overseas-built passenger cars was offset by a 3.7% sales decline for North American-built passenger cars.
The number of new passenger cars sold was up 4.4% from the December 2008 low. This was due entirely to higher sales of overseas-built passenger cars.
Losses in Quebec and Ontario offset gains elsewhere
While sales were up in eight provinces in April, the two most populous provinces registered sales drops. The 3.3% decline in Quebec did not offset March's gain. Ontario's 1.6% decrease came after three consecutive months of increases.
Among the sales gains in the other provinces, the ones that had the most impact on the national level were the advances in Alberta and British Columbia. Alberta was the only province where sales in April were below its December 2008 level.
The 7.0% rise in Manitoba was the largest monthly gain in the province since December 2007.
Available on CANSIM: table 079-0003.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2402.
The April 2009 issue of New Motor Vehicle Sales (63-007-X, free) will soon be available.
Data on new motor vehicle sales for May will be released on July 14.
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
| April 2008 | March 2009r | April 2009p | April 2008 to April 2009 | March to April 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 142,464 | 121,349 | 121,290 | -14.9 | 0.0 |
| Passenger cars | 75,124 | 61,108 | 61,106 | -18.7 | 0.0 |
| North American1 | 46,609 | 35,073 | 33,758 | -27.6 | -3.7 |
| Overseas | 28,515 | 26,035 | 27,348 | -4.1 | 5.0 |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 67,340 | 60,241 | 60,184 | -10.6 | -0.1 |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,516 | 2,208 | 2,348 | -6.7 | 6.3 |
| Prince Edward Island | 468 | 438 | 469 | 0.2 | 7.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 3,980 | 3,674 | 3,720 | -6.5 | 1.3 |
| New Brunswick | 3,555 | 2,761 | 2,852 | -19.8 | 3.3 |
| Quebec | 36,662 | 34,167 | 33,023 | -9.9 | -3.3 |
| Ontario | 51,776 | 44,489 | 43,795 | -15.4 | -1.6 |
| Manitoba | 3,985 | 3,495 | 3,739 | -6.2 | 7.0 |
| Saskatchewan | 4,103 | 3,627 | 3,698 | -9.9 | 2.0 |
| Alberta | 19,616 | 14,932 | 15,543 | -20.8 | 4.1 |
| British Columbia2 | 15,803 | 11,558 | 12,103 | -23.4 | 4.7 |
| April 2008 | March 2009r | April 2009p | April 2008 to April 2009 | ||
| Unadjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 179,289 | 129,831 | 146,026 | -18.6 | |
| Passenger cars | 98,333 | 65,695 | 75,332 | -23.4 | |
| North American1 | 60,137 | 38,347 | 40,460 | -32.7 | |
| Overseas | 38,196 | 27,348 | 34,872 | -8.7 | |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 80,956 | 64,136 | 70,694 | -12.7 | |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,585 | 2,234 | 3,148 | -12.2 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 571 | 417 | 551 | -3.5 | |
| Nova Scotia | 5,679 | 4,098 | 4,860 | -14.4 | |
| New Brunswick | 4,522 | 2,958 | 3,556 | -21.4 | |
| Quebec | 52,557 | 38,272 | 44,077 | -16.1 | |
| Ontario | 61,895 | 47,304 | 51,047 | -17.5 | |
| Manitoba | 4,801 | 3,643 | 4,236 | -11.8 | |
| Saskatchewan | 5,013 | 3,795 | 4,035 | -19.5 | |
| Alberta | 22,597 | 15,152 | 17,076 | -24.4 | |
| British Columbia2 | 18,069 | 11,958 | 13,440 | -25.6 | |
