Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
New motor vehicle sales
Archived Content
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.
New motor vehicles sales edged down 0.6% to 119,961 units in June. Most of this decrease was attributable to lower sales of passenger cars.
Sales of new motor vehicles have generally been rising since the beginning of 2009 after a sharp decline in the latter part of 2008. Despite this recent upward trend, sales levels have been well below those of recent years. Average monthly unit sales in the first six months of 2009 were nearly 119,000 compared with about 148,000 in the same period in 2008.
Note to readers
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusting data makes it much easier to determine shifts in demand by allowing data to be compared from one month to the next. For example, the seasonal adjustment process takes into account variations in trading days, such as the number of times each day of the week occurs in a specific month. It also removes seasonal patterns from a data series, such as the impact of higher vehicle sales in spring compared with winter. Thus, seasonal adjustment permits a better understanding of the underlying trend of a series.
For more information, consult the document "New Motor Vehicle Sales Survey: Seasonal Adjustment."
Preliminary industry data indicate that the number of new motor vehicles sold increased by about 5% in July.
Truck sales continue to outpace passenger car sales
The number of new passenger cars sold in June was down 1.0% to 59,038 vehicles. Sales of North American-built passenger cars declined 0.9%. Since December 2008, sales have been at near historic lows for this segment of the market. Overseas-built passenger cars sales fell 1.1% from May.
Sales of new trucks (which include minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses) edged down 0.2% to 60,923 units in June. Truck sales exceeded passenger car sales in June for the third consecutive month.
Sales down in five provinces
Sales were lower in five provinces in June. The main contributor to the overall decrease was a 2.3% decline in Ontario, which offset May's gain.
A 6.7% sales drop in New Brunswick was the highest percentage decline among all provinces. Sales in Newfoundland and Labrador decreased 2.9% after three months of advances.
The largest increase was a 3.1% rise in Alberta, which more than offset lower sales in May. Sales in Alberta were 24.3% lower compared with 12 months earlier, the highest year-over-year decline among all provinces.
Sales in Quebec advanced 1.4% following two months of declines. Nova Scotia registered a 0.4% sales increase, its fifth consecutive monthly advance.
Available on CANSIM: table 079-0003.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2402.
The June 2009 issue of New Motor Vehicle Sales (63-007-X, free) will be available soon.
Data on new motor vehicle sales for July will be released on September 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
| June 2008 | May 2009r | June 2009p | June 2008 to June 2009 | May to June 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 141,178 | 120,687 | 119,961 | -15.0 | -0.6 |
| Passenger cars | 78,558 | 59,626 | 59,038 | -24.8 | -1.0 |
| North American1 | 48,812 | 33,694 | 33,397 | -31.6 | -0.9 |
| Overseas | 29,746 | 25,932 | 25,641 | -13.8 | -1.1 |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 62,620 | 61,061 | 60,923 | -2.7 | -0.2 |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,405 | 2,454 | 2,382 | -1.0 | -2.9 |
| Prince Edward Island | 450 | 414 | 421 | -6.4 | 1.7 |
| Nova Scotia | 4,481 | 4,063 | 4,081 | -8.9 | 0.4 |
| New Brunswick | 3,334 | 2,912 | 2,716 | -18.5 | -6.7 |
| Quebec | 35,754 | 31,835 | 32,275 | -9.7 | 1.4 |
| Ontario | 50,572 | 44,014 | 43,017 | -14.9 | -2.3 |
| Manitoba | 4,013 | 3,833 | 3,634 | -9.4 | -5.2 |
| Saskatchewan | 3,967 | 3,798 | 3,602 | -9.2 | -5.2 |
| Alberta | 20,376 | 14,971 | 15,433 | -24.3 | 3.1 |
| British Columbia2 | 15,826 | 12,393 | 12,400 | -21.6 | 0.1 |
| June 2008 | May 2009r | June 2009p | June 2008 to June 2009 | ||
| Unadjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 163,064 | 156,025 | 140,445 | -13.9 | |
| Passenger cars | 95,991 | 83,181 | 74,028 | -22.9 | |
| North American1 | 59,162 | 47,369 | 41,654 | -29.6 | |
| Overseas | 36,829 | 35,812 | 32,374 | -12.1 | |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 67,073 | 72,844 | 66,417 | -1.0 | |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,159 | 3,736 | 3,142 | -0.5 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 560 | 589 | 520 | -7.1 | |
| Nova Scotia | 5,645 | 5,764 | 5,239 | -7.2 | |
| New Brunswick | 4,060 | 4,059 | 3,301 | -18.7 | |
| Quebec | 40,574 | 43,861 | 37,066 | -8.6 | |
| Ontario | 59,760 | 54,979 | 51,218 | -14.3 | |
| Manitoba | 4,454 | 4,554 | 4,022 | -9.7 | |
| Saskatchewan | 4,233 | 4,540 | 3,933 | -7.1 | |
| Alberta | 22,132 | 18,423 | 17,306 | -21.8 | |
| British Columbia2 | 18,487 | 15,520 | 14,698 | -20.5 | |
