Hyundai Canada is having a monster year with the Elantra compact car. With close to three-quarters of 2011 in the books, the Elantra is within just 110 units of unseating the Honda Civic as Canada’s top-selling passenger car.
As of September 1, reports DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, Elantra sales are up 37.9 per cent, while Honda’s Civic is down 10.3 per cent.
“And we’re not pushing with big sales incentives,” says Hyundai Auto Canada president Steve Kelleher.
The Civic has been Canada’s best-selling car for 13 years straight, “and symbolically it is a very significant development to lose this mantel to another brand” notes analyst Dennis DesRosiers.
We’re seeing other winning stories emerge as the year moves into its final quarter of 2011.
“Other strong models this year are the Chevrolet Cruze and VW Jetta. The Cruze seems to have hit a chord with Canadian consumers with monthly sales north of 3,000 units and YTD (year-to-date) sales of 25,000-plus units,” says DesRosiers in a note to clients, adding that the “Jetta has more than doubled sales month in and month out and is a very good example of what a diesel option can do for sales in the Canadian market.”
On the light truck side, the Ford F-Series remains on top – and not just among light trucks. The F-Series will finish 2011 as Canada’s best-selling vehicle, period.
Two other big winners so far this year: Dodge Journey crossover, up 43 per cent, and Chevrolet Equinox crossover, up 27.1 per cent.
Here are the full details of Canada’s top 10 cars and light trucks through the end of the third quarter:
Passenger Cars
| Passenger Car | 2011 | 2010 | % gain/loss | |
| 1 | Honda Civic | 33,047 | 36,824 | -10.3% |
| 2 | Hyundai Elantra | 32,937 | 23,885 | 37.9% |
| 3 | Mazda3 | 25,675 | 35,747 | -28.2% |
| 4 | Chevrolet Cruze | 25,060 | - | NA |
| 5 | Toyota Corolla | 24,682 | 26,622 | -7.3% |
| 6 | Ford Focus | 18,635 | 17,205 | 8.3% |
| 7 | Volkswagen Jetta | 18,567 | 7,411 | 150.5% |
| 8 | Hyundai Accent | 15,790 | 19,128 | -17.5% |
| 9 | Ford Fusion | 14,042 | 14,261 | -1.5% |
| 10 | Hyundai Sonata | 11,851 | 10,054 | 17.9% |
Light Trucks
| Light Truck | 2011 | 2010 | % gain/loss | |
| 1 | Ford F-Series | 64,581 | 65,975 | -2.1% |
| 2 | Dodge Ram | 41,355 | 37,045 | 11.6% |
| 3 | Dodge Caravan | 39,790 | 38,332 | 3.8% |
| 4 | Ford Escape | 31,615 | 29,671 | 6.6% |
| 5 | GMC Sierra | 30,641 | 30,645 | 0.0% |
| 6 | Chevrolet Silverado | 26,429 | 28,219 | -6.3% |
| 7 | Dodge Journey | 21,350 | 14,933 | 43.0% |
| 8 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 18,268 | 18,417 | -0.8% |
| 9 | Chevrolet Equinox | 16,117 | 12,676 | 27.1% |
| 10 | Honda CR-V | 15,950 | 17,613 | -9.4% |
Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants
