2013 Honda Civic EX-L Sedan
Hyundai Canada sold an astonishing number of Elantra compact cars in May. Astonishing – 6,268 in all, for a year-on-year jump of 36.1 per cent.
As we near the halfway point of 2013, the Elantra remains Canada's best-selling passenger car, based on the latest numbers from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. The Elantra's lead over the Honda Civic, No. 1 in Canada for 15 straight years, is slim, however: 332 units.
Honda surely must be troubled by the slide in Civic sales. On the year, the Civic is down 14.4 per cent, while the Elantra is up 11.0 per cent. The two cars are going in opposite directions, sales-wise.
Honda Canada officials insist that they will hold onto the "best-selling" crown in 2013. Hyundai officials remain coy. In any case, it's amusing to watch these two heavyweights duke it out for the title of No. 1. Believe me, this is meaningful in the industry.
If by some twist of fate the Elantra finishes the year on top, Honda will be mortified and chastised. Meanwhile, the No. 1 crown will draw attention to the fact that Honda manufactures the Civic here in Canada and most of what Honda Canada sells is built in this country by Canadians. Hyundai builds Elantras and Sonatas in the southern U.S..
What's not in danger is Ford of Canada's dominance in full-size trucks.
"Ford's full-size F-Series pickup truck was the country's top-selling vehicle last month, with a massive 12,740 unit sales total (up 16.2 per cent)," says DesRosiers in a note to clients.
DesRosiers points to a number of other vehicles with big gains in May: Toyota Corolla (up 19.7 per cent), Toyota Camry (up 21.3 per cent), Ford Fusion (up 29.1 per cent), Ram pickup (up 22.0 per cent), Ford Escape (up 22.3 per cent), Honda CR-V (up 30.9 per cent), Toyota RAV4 (up 28.1 per cent) and Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (up 12.7 per cent).
May was a good months for new vehicle sales overall, though as DesRosiers points out, the 5.3 overall gain was mostly confined to "Canada's two highest-volume light truck segments – large pickup (up 11.6 per cent) and compact sport-utility (up 20.0 per cent)…Passenger cars underperformed the total market, showing meagre growth of just 2.4 per cent."
Here's a look at Canada's top 10 cars and light trucks through May 2013:
Passenger Cars | 2013 | 2012 | % gain/loss | |
1 | Hyundai Elantra | 23,140 | 20,843 | 11.0% |
2 | Honda Civic | 22,808 | 26,631 | -14.4% |
3 | Toyota Corolla | 18,032 | 17,824 | 1.2% |
4 | Mazda3 | 16,134 | 16,134 | 0.0% |
5 | Chevrolet Cruze | 13,440 | 13,171 | 2.0% |
6 | Volkswagen Jetta | 12,696 | 10,004 | 26.9% |
7 | Ford Focus | 10,775 | 11,283 | -4.7% |
8 | Ford Fusion | 9,110 | 7,071 | 28.8% |
9 | Hyundai Accent | 8,129 | 10,818 | -24.9% |
10 | Toyota Camry | 7,471 | 8,543 | -12.5% |
Light Trucks | 2013 | 2012 | % gain/loss | |
1 | Ford F-Series | 50,626 | 42,634 | 18.7% |
2 | Ram pickup | 34,052 | 28,333 | 20.2% |
3 | Dodge Caravan | 19,473 | 21,963 | -11.3% |
4 | GMC Sierra | 18,585 | 17,740 | 4.8% |
5 | Ford Escape | 17,230 | 15,384 | 12.0% |
6 | Chevrolet Silverado | 15,308 | 14,392 | 6.4% |
7 | Toyota RAV4 | 13,467 | 9,919 | 35.8% |
8 | Honda CR-V | 13,239 | 14,571 | -9.1% |
9 | Dodge Journey | 11,386 | 12,016 | -5.2% |
10 | Hyundai Santa Fe Sport | 10,535 | 9,019 | 16.8% |
Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants