Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
New motor vehicle sales
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
New motor vehicle sales fell 0.3% to 126,401 units in August, following strong gains in July. Lower sales of passenger cars were responsible for the decline.
Sales of new motor vehicles have generally been rising since the beginning of 2009, following a sharp decline at the end of 2008. On a year-over-year basis, sales in August were 6.6% lower than in August 2008.
Preliminary industry data indicate that the number of new motor vehicles sold was relatively unchanged in September.
Lower sales of North American-built passenger cars
The number of new passenger cars sold in August fell 1.0% to 62,425 units. Sales of North American-built passenger cars decreased 9.3%, partially offsetting the large increase in July. The number of overseas-built passenger cars sold rose by 11.0%, offsetting the declines of the previous three months.
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 data.
Sales of new trucks (which include minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses) rose 0.4% to 63,976 units in August. Truck sales have exceeded passenger car sales on a monthly basis since May.
Saskatchewan largest contributor to overall decline in August
The number of new motor vehicles sold declined in six provinces in August. The largest decrease and largest contribution to the overall decline was Saskatchewan (-5.7%), partially offsetting the increase in this province in July.
The largest increase was a 3.8% gain in New Brunswick. The number of new motor vehicles sold in Nova Scotia rose 0.5%, an eighth consecutive monthly advance.
The number of new motor vehicles sold in Ontario (+0.1%) and Quebec (-0.2%) did not change substantially from July.
Available on CANSIM: table 079-0003.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2402.
The August 2009 issue of New Motor Vehicle Sales (63-007-X, free) will be available soon.
Data on new motor vehicle sales for September will be released on November 13.
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
| August 2008 | July 2009r | August 2009p | August 2008 to August 2009 | July to August 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 135,264 | 126,785 | 126,401 | -6.6 | -0.3 |
| Passenger cars | 72,504 | 63,076 | 62,425 | -13.9 | -1.0 |
| North American1 | 44,551 | 37,332 | 33,853 | -24.0 | -9.3 |
| Overseas | 27,953 | 25,744 | 28,572 | 2.2 | 11.0 |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 62,760 | 63,709 | 63,976 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,666 | 2,454 | 2,363 | -11.4 | -3.7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 425 | 442 | 419 | -1.4 | -5.2 |
| Nova Scotia | 4,130 | 4,202 | 4,224 | 2.3 | 0.5 |
| New Brunswick | 3,371 | 2,957 | 3,068 | -9.0 | 3.8 |
| Quebec | 34,915 | 33,151 | 33,077 | -5.3 | -0.2 |
| Ontario | 48,531 | 47,400 | 47,444 | -2.2 | 0.1 |
| Manitoba | 3,791 | 3,754 | 3,784 | -0.2 | 0.8 |
| Saskatchewan | 4,106 | 3,936 | 3,710 | -9.6 | -5.7 |
| Alberta | 19,115 | 15,773 | 15,617 | -18.3 | -1.0 |
| British Columbia2 | 14,214 | 12,716 | 12,695 | -10.7 | -0.2 |
| August 2008 | July 2009r | August 2009p | August 2008 to August 2009 | ||
| Unadjusted | |||||
| number of vehicles | % change | ||||
| New motor vehicles | 149,607 | 141,621 | 136,971 | -8.4 | |
| Passenger cars | 80,923 | 73,425 | 68,383 | -15.5 | |
| North American1 | 50,352 | 42,908 | 37,309 | -25.9 | |
| Overseas | 30,571 | 30,517 | 31,074 | 1.6 | |
| Trucks, vans and buses | 68,684 | 68,196 | 68,588 | -0.1 | |
| New motor vehicles | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,300 | 3,025 | 2,692 | -18.4 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 545 | 582 | 489 | -10.3 | |
| Nova Scotia | 4,590 | 4,804 | 4,453 | -3.0 | |
| New Brunswick | 3,843 | 3,488 | 3,452 | -10.2 | |
| Quebec | 39,217 | 38,525 | 36,181 | -7.7 | |
| Ontario | 53,104 | 51,668 | 51,725 | -2.6 | |
| Manitoba | 4,455 | 4,120 | 4,285 | -3.8 | |
| Saskatchewan | 4,995 | 4,544 | 4,178 | -16.4 | |
| Alberta | 20,298 | 17,005 | 16,124 | -20.6 | |
| British Columbia2 | 15,260 | 13,860 | 13,392 | -12.2 | |
