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New motor vehicle sales
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The number of new motor vehicles sold in July climbed 5.3% to 126,665 units, reflecting especially strong sales in Ontario. Sales of both passenger cars and trucks were up.
After a sharp decline at the end of 2008, sales of new motor vehicles have generally been rising since the beginning of 2009. On a year-over-year basis, July's sales were 8.5% lower than July 2008.
Preliminary industry data indicate that the number of new motor vehicles sold was relatively unchanged in August.
A strong gain in North-American built passenger car sales in July
The number of new passenger cars sold in July rose by 6.3% to 63,025 vehicles. North American-built passenger cars were responsible for this increase with a 15.1% rise, the largest increase for this category since January 2008. The number of overseas-built passenger cars sold fell 4.4%, a third consecutive monthly decline.
Note to readers
Seasonally adjusted data of new motor vehicle sales have been revised from 2004 to reflect an update in seasonal adjustment factors. Because of the constant evolution of seasonal factors, revisions can be more significant for some months of the year. However, the annual sum of seasonally adjusted figures corresponds to the annual sum of unadjusted estimates.
Sales of new trucks (which include minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses) increased by 4.3% to 63,640 units in July.
Ontario leads increases across Canada
Sales rose in all provinces across Canada in July. More than two-thirds of the national increase came from Ontario, where sales rose 10.0% following a slight decrease in June.
After posting the largest decrease in June, sales in New Brunswick rose 6.3%, completely offsetting that decline.
The lowest growth rates were posted in British Columbia (+1.5%), Nova Scotia (+1.9%), Newfoundland and Labrador (+2.2%) and Alberta (+2.2%). Sales in Alberta were 20.2% lower compared with 12 months earlier, the largest year-over-year decline among all provinces for a third month.
Available on CANSIM: table 079-0003.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2402.
The July 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 October 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 Iman Mustapha (613-951-3040), Distributive Trades Division.
Table 1
| July 2008 | June 2009r | July 2009p | July 2008 to July 2009 | June to July 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 138,498 | 120,300 | 126,665 | -8.5 | 5.3 |
| Passenger cars | 75,156 | 59,294 | 63,025 | -16.1 | 6.3 |
| North American1 | 47,781 | 32,623 | 37,538 | -21.4 | 15.1 |
| Overseas | 27,375 | 26,671 | 25,487 | -6.9 | -4.4 |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 63,342 | 61,006 | 63,640 | 0.5 | 4.3 |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,637 | 2,397 | 2,449 | -7.1 | 2.2 |
| Prince Edward Island | 440 | 422 | 443 | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| Nova Scotia | 4,291 | 4,102 | 4,180 | -2.6 | 1.9 |
| New Brunswick | 3,480 | 2,752 | 2,925 | -15.9 | 6.3 |
| Quebec | 35,748 | 32,299 | 33,070 | -7.5 | 2.4 |
| Ontario | 49,480 | 43,254 | 47,560 | -3.9 | 10.0 |
| Manitoba | 4,055 | 3,624 | 3,744 | -7.7 | 3.3 |
| Saskatchewan | 4,103 | 3,642 | 3,964 | -3.4 | 8.8 |
| Alberta | 19,679 | 15,362 | 15,697 | -20.2 | 2.2 |
| British Columbia2 | 14,585 | 12,446 | 12,633 | -13.4 | 1.5 |
| July 2008 | June 2009r | July 2009p | July 2008 to July 2009 | ||
| Unadjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 152,704 | 140,442 | 141,621 | -7.3 | |
| Passenger cars | 85,826 | 74,028 | 73,425 | -14.4 | |
| North American1 | 52,973 | 41,654 | 42,908 | -19.0 | |
| Overseas | 32,853 | 32,374 | 30,517 | -7.1 | |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 66,878 | 66,414 | 68,196 | 2.0 | |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,397 | 3,142 | 3,025 | -11.0 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 553 | 520 | 582 | 5.2 | |
| Nova Scotia | 4,864 | 5,239 | 4,804 | -1.2 | |
| New Brunswick | 4,027 | 3,299 | 3,488 | -13.4 | |
| Quebec | 41,118 | 37,065 | 38,525 | -6.3 | |
| Ontario | 52,776 | 51,218 | 51,668 | -2.1 | |
| Manitoba | 4,456 | 4,022 | 4,120 | -7.5 | |
| Saskatchewan | 4,621 | 3,933 | 4,544 | -1.7 | |
| Alberta | 20,899 | 17,229 | 17,005 | -18.6 | |
| British Columbia2 | 15,993 | 14,775 | 13,860 | -13.3 | |
