Vehicle sales in Canada rose 5.7% year on year in 2012 to 1.68m, the second highest tally on record, lifted by demand for European imports and well priced Korean models.
Ford was the top-selling automaker in the country for the third consecutive year while Chrysler, which was third in 2011, overtook General Motors for second.
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Analysts expect sales to continue to increase this year, nearing – or even exceeding – the record 1.7m set in 2002, due to remaining pent-up demand.
Ford sold 276,068 vehicles in Canada during 2012, just 90 more than in 2011, including over 100,000 F-Series which remained the best-selling vehicle line for the third year in a row.
Chrysler’s sales rose 6% to 243,845, its best retail result since 2000, while General Motors slipped 6.6% to 226,825.
Although Detroit’s Big Three maintained their long-held lead in Canada, their share dipped to 44.5% from 47.2% in 2011 as sales of imported vehicles grew.
Toyota Canada said its sales rose 18.4% to 192,058 last year while combined Honda and Acura sales jumped 21% to 148,712. Honda’s Civic retained its position as Canada’s top-selling passenger car for a 15th year.
Hyundai and Kia both set new sales records in 2012 as did several European brands including BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Mini.
