NEW CAR DEALERS DRIVING LOCAL ECONOMIES ACROSS B.C.
New car sales across Canada are on pace for a record year, which is going a long way towards driving job creation and supporting regional and local economies here in British Columbia.
In 2015, 1.9 million vehicles were sold across Canada, and Automotive Reports recently reported that sales are up more than eight per cent from last year. In April alone, the sector sold more than 200,000 light vehicles in a month for the first time in Canadian history.
In British Columbia, dealers are reporting a steady increase in sales and projecting a strong finish for 2016, meaning that despite some economic uncertainty, consumers are still confident enough to make a significant investment in transportation.
Those numbers bode well for the province’s economy.The automotive sector is directly responsible for close to $11 billion in economic activity in our province and currently employs more than 36,000 British Columbians in 55 communities. Strong year-over-year sales are important to maintain that level of economic activity and employment.
There are a number of reasons for this growing trend. First, the cost of operating a passenger vehicle is going down thanks to lower gas prices and more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Secondly, the cost of purchasing a new vehicle has never been more affordable as interests rates have never been lower. In many cases, you can buy a new vehicle and pay zero per cent interest for the term.
We are also seeing a strong trend towards increasing sales for clean energy vehicles (CEVs) as consumers look to make sustainable buying decisions and take advantage of rebates that save them money.
British Columbia is currently leading the way with more electric vehicle sales per capita than any other province in Canada.
The uptake of CEVs is somewhat attributed to the incentive-based programming offered throughout British Columbia. The government-funded CEVforBC program allows consumers to save up to $5,000 towards the purchase or lease of a new battery electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and up to $6,000 for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
For qualifying electric vehicles, the incentive can also be combined with the BC SCRAP-IT incentive program for up to $3,250 off the sticker price if a purchaser scraps an older vehicle. That adds up to more than $8,000 in incentives.
Strong growth within the sector is also posing a significant challenge for local dealers looking for skilled workers and people who want to make a career within the auto industry.
The influx in sales results in new car dealerships needing more and more British Columbians to join the industry workforce than ever before.
Over the next 10 years, both the New Car Dealers Association (NCDA) of B.C. and the Automotive Retailers Association expect 20,000 new jobs to become available in communities across B.C.
We will have more jobs than people in the coming years. This is a good problem to have and a great sign for our economy, but certainly something that needs to be addressed within the industry.
The NCDA and the BC Automotive Sector Alliance (BCASA) have launched an aggressive recruitment program to attract the next generation of industry workers.
Today, automotive careers include a wide range of professions ranging from mechanics, installation technicians and sales people to customer service professionals, accountants, business administrators, marketing experts and managers.
Many of these career opportunities offered are high paying jobs – up to six figures in many cases – allowing people to work close to home or in any region of the province they choose.
An increase in new car sales coupled with employment growth will ultimately result in a direct and clearly positive impact on the provincial economy.
This growth, coupled with the province maintaining a competitive tax regime and incentivizing buyers towards clean-energy vehicles, will also result in a pathway of continued economic stability and a reputation for leadership excellence for all of British Columbia.