Auto sales slow down but they still set records
Last year was a whirlwind for Canadian auto retailers, as each month brought growing sales statistics — right to the end of November.
December, however, was a different story as a 1.9-per-cent drop in sales from the previous December broke a 32-month streak for monthly year-over-year improvements.
In the end, however, 2015 was the strongest year ever for Canadian auto sales with 1,898,485 units sold.
The biggest story continued to be the increasing dominance of light trucks, as the quest for utility caused passenger car sales to shrink. Car sales dropped 15 per cent to 40,819 units in December, while 88,055 light trucks left showrooms for an increase of 5.6 per cent.
These numbers are reflected in the year-end totals, where 715,719 cars were sold vs. 1,182,766 light trucks.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles took the sales lead early in the year and while Ford and GM scored a couple of winning months, in the end it was Fiat Chrysler that took the top spot both for the month and the year.
The model sales mix echoes the car-vs.-truck battle, as the Ford F-Series remains Canada’s top selling vehicle, with 118,837 units leaving dealerships.
That is more than the top two passenger cars, the Honda Civic (64,950) and Hyundai Elantra (47,722) combined. The Ram pickup (91,195), GMC Sierra (53,727) and Ford Escape (47,726) round out the top five.
The strong finish resulted in a flurry of press releases from auto manufacturers who were proud to report “best ever” annual sales.
Most notable among the records were Mini, Porsche, Lexus and Land Rover, who experienced year-overyear growth of 31, 30, 25.4 and 22.9 per cent, respectively. Insurance discounts for winter tires in effect Readers will recall that in October 2015, provincial Minister of Finance Charles Sousa announced that beginning Jan. 1, 2016, insurance companies must offer a discount to motorists who buy winter tires.
Having been asked a number of times how this will be implemented, I reached out to John Bordignon from State Farm. He said consumers should contact their own insurance provider directly.
“Each company has a different method of applying the discount in terms of when it is implemented and how they will communicate and reveal that to their customers,” Bordignon said.
“Some companies will apply the discount immediately while others will do so upon your renewal date. You’re going to get that discount applied and/or reimbursement at some point.” Enterprise Car Rentals launches Exotic rentals Beyond the typical “what is the best car?” question that auto journalists are typically asked, the one that stands out for me is, “Where in Toronto can I rent an exotic car?”
For the most part, the usual answer is GTA Exotics (gtaexotics.ca), as they have really been the only option for exotic car rentals in the city.
Enterprise Car Rentals is changing that for 2016 with the Canadian launch of the Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise in Toronto. The company already offers the program in the U.S. and United Kingdom.
At this time, the Toronto fleet includes premium luxury models such as the BMW 528I and X5, Range Rover, Infiniti QX80, Audi Q5 and Porsche Panamera. You can learn more at exoticcars.enterprise.ca. Dave’s Corner Garage moves to new time, day on SiriusXM
Long-time Canadian automotive radio show personality Dave Redinger’s show Dave’s Corner Garage has been so popular with SiriusXM listeners that it has been moved to a new time and day.
The show, which is on channel 167, will air on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.
In Toronto, its home base is AM740 Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. Freelance writer Gary Grant is a regular contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.