Canadian car sales stats for October 2009

Overall, October was a break-even month. Light vehicle sales were down only 1% over the same period last year, 121,500 from 122,711 units. The fall season typically signifies a slowdown on car sales for everyone and 2009 will be no different... except for some manufacturers.

It would be impossible to ignore that in only one short month, Acura went from a 45% slump to a +78.9% explosion! That's right, a near 125% jump in sales. They're number for one for October. In second place for best results is Hyundai with an increase of 43%. Can anyone stop the Korean onslaught? As long as they keep their product fresh and attainable, I don't think so Tim... Subaru cannot thank Fuji enough for the new Outback and Legacy, as their numbers continue to climb (+39.3%) and I expect that the good times will keep on rolling for a while, given that the Outback has just won the title of best SUV/CUV under 35k from AJAC.

Runners-up include Mercedes-Benz going strong with a 27.8% spike in numbers and Jaguar, yes Jaguar, and Kia. The last two makers saw, respectively, 23.6% and 23.2% jumps in new car sales last month.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's Third Law is right: If there are winners, there must be losers. General Motors continues to slip with a 33.1% sales drop in October. Mini also suffers the same fate (and has for the last few months) with a deliveries depression of 21%. Volvo and smart are also feeling the crunch, as they navigate through decreases of 16.1% and 15.6% respectively.

Ford is once again on a high. Once more making money, their 20.3% rise in units sold is proof positive that this storied American car company is doing something right. The Fiesta is well on its way, the Taurus is the Best New Family car over 30k according to AJAC and vehicles like the Fusion and Lincoln MKT will surely help maintain the momentum.

September	Current Month			YTD
	2009	2008	09/08	2009	2008	09/08
Acura	2079	1162	78.9%	14614	16873	-13.4%
Audi	1100	1075	2.3%	9523	7795	22.2%
BMW	2310	2190	5.5%	20793	19.666	5.7%
Chrysler	14215	15643	-9.1%	137238	193927	-29.2%
Ford	18187	15123	20.3%	191062	180244	6.0%
General Motors	18818	28115	-33.1%	218155	3131605	-30.3%
Honda	9224	10293	-10.4%	104133	134706	-22.7%
Hyundai	8415	5885	43.0%	91057	71319	27.7%
Infiniti	743	770	-3.5%	6029	7225	-16.6%
Jaguar	68	55	23.6%	697	851	-18.1%
Kia	3603	2925	23.2%	40009	33175	20.6%
Land Rover	224	217	3.2%	1567	2001	-21.7%
Lexus	1459	1304	11.9%	13283	12943	2.6%
Mazda	5612	6109	-8.1%	64294	75440	-14.8%
Mercedes-Benz	2199	1720	27.8%	20386	17141	18.9%
MINI	380	481	-21.0%	3608	4247	-15.0%
Mitsubishi	1452	1338	8.5%	17003	15862	7.2%
Nissan	5912	6063	-2.5%	62535	66771	-6.3%
Porsche	130	114	14.0%	1450	1472	-1.5%
Saab	41	105	-61.0%	699	1383	-49.5%
smart	228	270	-15.6%	2272	3422	-33.6%
Subaru	2486	1784	39.3%	18874	16890	11.7%
Suzuki	1336	1316	1.5%	10883	11804	-7.8%
Toyota	17354	14539	19.4%	158012	188671	-16.2%
Volkswagen	3545	3662	-3.2%	33664	33588	0.2%
Volvo	380	453	-16.1%	5433	5766	-5.8%
Light Vehicle Sales	121500	122711	-1.0%	1247273	1436342	-13.2%
Passenger car	61865	63507	-2.6%	645767	798582	-19.1%
Light Truck	59635	59204	0.7%	601506	637760	-5.7%
GM/Ford/Chrysler Nameplates	51220	58881	-13.0%	546455	687331	-20.5%
Import Nameplate	70280	63830	10.1%	700818	749011	-6.4%
Sales History	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	09/08
January	79.2	86.2	91.2	102.8	76.9	-25.3%
February	102.7	97.4	97.0	111.0	80.2	-27.7%
March	144.5	151.3	150.7	150.0	127.5	-15.0%
April	163.2	155.1	169.0	175.2	143.9	-17.8%
May	157.6	168.2	185.5	184.5	154.0	-16.5%
June	161.4	157.3	169.2	159.5	138.5	-13.2%
July	154.8	141.6	142.4	149.5	139.9	-6.4%
August	142.5	153.6	158.4	147.0	135.4	-7.9%
September	124.2	135.8	131.8	134.1	129.5	-3.5%
October	115.2	118.4	120.9	122.7	121.5	-1.0%
November	120.2	123.5	117.3	105.2
December	117.8	126.3	119.9	94.4
Full Year	1583.3	1614.7	1653.4	1636.0
Note: Sales figures above are in thousands.

Source : Desrosiers Automotive Report