Despite marked increases in interest rates and new vehicle prices, Canadian consumers still seem inclined to spend more and more to acquire a new vehicle. A final probe by the specialized firm DesRosiers Automotive shows that large SUVs are more popular than ever in the country.
These road behemoths saw their market share increase in Canada by 37.3% during the first half of the year to reach a record level, says DesRosiers. Their footprint remains small, however, at just 2.3% of all vehicle types sold during this period.
On the other hand, subcompact cars suffered the biggest drop, with losses of 27.3% of their share of the pie across Canada. This performance is no doubt attributable to the shrinking supply, since many manufacturers have completely abandoned this segment.
It should be noted that total sales of new vehicles grew by 7.6% during this first half of 2023, which shows a gradual recovery in deliveries.
Small vehicles popular on the second-hand market
This weakness in the supply of new subcompact and compact cars as well as the shortages of semiconductors continues to put in parallel a strong pressure on the prices of used vehicles, also noted DesRosiers.
In May, the residual value of 48-month-old subcompact cars was 103.7 in Canada, 22% higher than the average for all car segments.
Compact cars are just behind with a residual value of 95.3% over 48 months. The various categories of cars also better maintain their residual value at 81.7% on average compared to 77.4% for all light trucks in the country.