The automotive market experienced a surge in 2021 in terms of new vehicles, but especially used vehicles.
Data from the analysis carried out by the vehicle sales platform AutoHebdo shows that last December, the average price of a used vehicle had increased by 34.5% compared to December 2020, to reach 33,240 $. This is the highest average price ever achieved in the country for a used vehicle.
In Quebec, the increase is even greater, reaching 35.4%, although the average price of a used car is below the national average, standing at $29,434. No explanation is offered for this difference, but AutoHebdo points out that the average price is traditionally lower in Quebec. One of the hypotheses put forward would be that Quebecers buy, overall, more sedans than SUVs and pickup trucks compared to the Canadian average.
On the new vehicle side, the Canadian average price exceeded $50,000 for the first time in December 2021 to reach $50,758, an increase of 12.7% compared to December 2020. In Quebec, the increase was slightly higher, by 12.9%, to reach $45,975.
The pandemic effect
The analysis specifies that demand has been very strong for motor vehicles since the start of the pandemic, among other things because several respondents to a survey conducted by AutoHebdo expressed their declining interest in public transport and a desire to turn to car transport to reduce the risk of contagion. This trend, already observed in 2020, continued in 2021.
At the same time, the pandemic has allowed many Canadians to save on transportation costs due to telecommuting, on travel costs, meals and so on, giving them more leeway when it comes to purchasing a vehicle.
While these factors drove up demand, the shortage of microchips that affected car manufacturers had the opposite effect on the supply of new vehicles, which largely explains the enthusiasm for used cars. .