Toronto, Ontario — December’s automotive sales performance during increased lockdowns brought year-end total automotive sales to only 1.54 million units for 2020 as a whole–a decline of roughly 20 percent from the same time in 2019.
“December saw a somewhat surprising end to the most unpredictable of years,” commented Andrew King, managing partner of Desrosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. (DAC).
The estimated sales for the month, according to King, fell only 2.6 percent from 2019, with the month outperforming November in percentage terms despite the increase in restrictions and lockdowns associated with the second wave of the pandemic.
“It may be difficult to take a market decline of 19.7 percent in any way as a hopeful outcome – but from the depths of full dealer closures and a 75 percent market collapse in April – the year-end performance was perhaps not as bad as many in the industry had feared in the Spring,” he continued.
In addition to the surprising top-line fluctuations, this year also saw numerous other dynamics of distinction.
“The relentless consumer switch from passenger cars to light trucks continued apace as a reminder that it is consumers (rather than Governments or vehicle companies) who decide what vehicles are actually purchased in Canada” noted King.
Some of the data collected include; the 19.7 percent drop in sales was the second-biggest percentage decline on record, falling in between 22.7 declines of 1982 and the 17.3 declines of 1954. The market total of 1.54 million units was the lowest market total since 2009, wiping away a decade of growth; and the monthly decline of April of 75 percent compared to April 2019.
However, the light truck market share of 79.9 percent represented a new record, easily surpassing the previous high of 74.7 per cent in 2019. While all manufacturers saw sales decline, Kia and Genesis (with drops of only 5.5 and 4.1 percent) represent the “best” performing manufacturers relative to 2019.
More information on these numbers can be found in the DesRosiers Automotive Reports on their website here.
