July sales up 8% as normal nears for some automakers

Canadian demand for new vehicles continues to be strong and inventory is slowly building, but sales remain a long way off those of 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the auto industry.

Most automakers still reporting monthly sales saw their July numbers increase compared to the same month in 2022. But, almost all fell well short of 2019 totals. Only Subaru can justifiably say it is back to “normal.”

The automaker in July was closest to its 2019 totals. It sold 5,133 vehicles last month, up 63 per cent over July 2022 and down just half a per cent from 2019, when it sold 5,159.

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants estimates automakers sold  140,942 new light-vehicles in July. That’s up eight per cent from the 130,480 they sold a year ago. 

"There is still significant ground to cover in order to return to pre-pandemic levels," DesRosiers said in a news release. "July new light vehicle sales in 2019 reached 173,519 units sold, meaning July 2023 remains 18.8 per cent behind.

"However, the market continues to show consistent promise, even outside of the spring selling season."

Monthly sales figures are now estimates because so many automakers have turned to quarterly reporting. Ford has changed to annual reporting only. DesRosiers uses its own proprietary method to estimate monthly sales.

Honda’s July sales totaled 10,905, up 32.5 per cent compared with the same month last year. But, they are still down 38 per cent compared with 2019, when the automaker sold 17,961. 

It was a similar situation for Hyundai, which saw sales — including its luxury Genesis brand — increase 1.2 per cent to 10,605 in July, but remained down 19.5 per compared with the same month four years ago.

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants recently said the pandemic and the vehicle shortages that followed “created chaos in the automotive market.” 

“Some brands managed to consistently get some inventory to dealers, some saw availability ebb and flow, and some brands experienced sustained inventory troubles that continue to persist today,” the firm said earlier this month.

Toyota and Kia were both down eight per cent from July 2019. 

However, Toyota sold more vehicles than any reporting automaker last month. It sold 19,871, up seven per cent from a year prior. And Kia sales were up 39 per cent to 7,333 in July. 

Volvo and Mazda had not reported July sales as of Aug. 2.

Sales have increased tin nine consecutive months, DesRsoiers said.

U.S.-based auto analyst Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions wrote in the latest AutoForecast Monthly that sales in Canada remain steady.

But, he raised concerns over potential strikes by Unifor in Canada and the UAW in the United States as bargaining between the unions and the Detroit Three begins this month.

“Manufacturers are upping their production plans for the summer to keep inventory levels adequate in the fall, but this may not be enough to keep sales from sagging in quarter four,” he wrote. “Like in the U.S., Canada could be influenced by a labour strike in the last quarter of 2023, but, anticipating that issue, the forecast for sales this year remains at 1.64 million units." 

This report will be updated.