August new-vehicle sales were up 5.6 per cent compared with the same time last year but sales gains will be tougher to come by in the coming months, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants says.
The consultancy estimates 165,000 units were sold in August, calling it healthy year-over-year growth.
It adds, though, that the sales activity was still below pre-pandemic levels, when auto sales for August regularly topped 180,000 units.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for August 2024 came in at a robust 1.81 million units. That’s the highest it has been since the first quarter of 2024 when pent-up demand was flooding the market.
DesRosiers says sales were up 10.5 per cent as a whole during the first seven months of the year as vehicle supply improved.
Andrew King, managing partner at DesRosiers, says the market's ability to keep producing significant percentage gains will be more difficult heading into the end of the year as the final four months of 2023 were strong, creating tough benchmarks to beat.
DesRosiers cites rising unemployment, declining GDP per capita, and high vehicle prices as factors that could also affect auto sales in the coming months.
Only 10 brands continue to report sales on a monthly basis. As of Sept. 5, all but Mazda had publicly reported their sales. And of the nine that did, low-volume luxury line Genesis saw the biggest gain, up 17.6 per cent to 660 units. Hyundai sales were up 3.2 per cent to 10,697. And Honda edge up only slightly by 0.2 per cent to 11,694.
Kia was the biggest loser among those that reported August figures, down 11.4 per cent to 7,412. Acura fell 7.5 per cent to 995 and Lexus was off 6.9 per cent to 2,420.
Toyota brand was the biggest seller by volume at 16,683, but sales were down 2.5 per cent.
— The Canadian Press and Greg Layson of Automotive News Canada contributed to this report.
