While the top of the Canadian automotive sales tree does not seem to change much month-to-month when it comes to specific brands, the shift in the types of vehicles we buy in general is dramatic.
More and more Canadians are moving away from midsize/family vehicles and are buying more entry-level vehicles and more large, luxury and sport vehicles.
According to sales statistics supplied by Dennis DesRosiers and Associates of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canadians bought 304,468 midsize and family vehicles the first seven months of 2005, which is a -3.7 percent decrease from the 316,305 units they bought in 2004.
In volume terms the big gainer so far in 2005 is the entry-level segment, in which sales went up to 401,478 over the first seven months, an increase of 10.8 percent from the same time in 2004.
In percentage terms the big gainer for the year is the large/luxury/sport category, which was up 15.3 percent at the end of July, going to 114,172 units from 99,025.
Canadians' changing tastes in vehicles was even more obvious in July, when large/luxury/sports sales went up 18.5 percent (to 15,822 from 13,188) and entry-level sales were up an impressive 24.0 percent (to 71,142 from 57,366).
The big reason for all the sales gains in July was of course the move to "employee pricing" by DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors, which had the other firms scrambling to offer bigger discounts themselves. But even then the midsize/family segment only went up 1.0 percent, to 44,373 from 43,915.
It's easy to explain a lot of the increase in more expensive vehicles in July, since they came with bigger discounts and that brought them down to a price point that encouraged midsize/family buyers to get something bigger or more luxurious.
The rest of the shift upscale probably involves the increasing number of empty-nest Baby Boomers who are using their two incomes and/or their parents' estates on a more expensive car rather than tuition and so on for their kids.
As for the increased number of entry-level sales, some of that is probably also the result of the big discount wars of recent weeks but a lot of it also has to do with the increased number of worthy offerings, particularly Korean models from Hyundai, Kia and GM's Daewoo operation that are sold mostly as Chevrolets.
DesRosiers makes an interesting point that going to an entry-level vehicle is not the hardship that it was even a decade ago, that they are more powerful and more fuel-efficient than their predecessors from a decade ago.
The best example DesRosiers could find was the Chevrolet Cavalier, which has been one of Canada's most popular and successful vehicles over the last decade. In 1990, he points out, the base Cavalier had a 2.2-litre inline-four engine that put out 95 hp and earned 9.4L/100km and 6.5 L/100Km urban and highway fuel efficiency ratings, respectively, on Transport Canada's tests.
That's "Quite an accomplishment," DesRosiers says, and "there are many more similar examples."
At the same time that they've been getting more powerful and more fuel-efficient, entry-level vehicles have also been picking up remarkable improvements in quality, comfort and content. These numbers aren't as easy to quantify, but anyone who remembers the entry-level models of even a decade ago knows that is undeniably true. One need only look at the new Chevrolet Cobalt and the most recent Cavalier that DesRosiers praised to see the truth of that, though many other examples exist from every other car company.
More and more Canadians are moving away from midsize/family vehicles and are buying more entry-level vehicles and more large, luxury and sport vehicles.
According to sales statistics supplied by Dennis DesRosiers and Associates of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canadians bought 304,468 midsize and family vehicles the first seven months of 2005, which is a -3.7 percent decrease from the 316,305 units they bought in 2004.
In volume terms the big gainer so far in 2005 is the entry-level segment, in which sales went up to 401,478 over the first seven months, an increase of 10.8 percent from the same time in 2004.
In percentage terms the big gainer for the year is the large/luxury/sport category, which was up 15.3 percent at the end of July, going to 114,172 units from 99,025.
Canadians' changing tastes in vehicles was even more obvious in July, when large/luxury/sports sales went up 18.5 percent (to 15,822 from 13,188) and entry-level sales were up an impressive 24.0 percent (to 71,142 from 57,366).
The big reason for all the sales gains in July was of course the move to "employee pricing" by DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors, which had the other firms scrambling to offer bigger discounts themselves. But even then the midsize/family segment only went up 1.0 percent, to 44,373 from 43,915.
It's easy to explain a lot of the increase in more expensive vehicles in July, since they came with bigger discounts and that brought them down to a price point that encouraged midsize/family buyers to get something bigger or more luxurious.
The rest of the shift upscale probably involves the increasing number of empty-nest Baby Boomers who are using their two incomes and/or their parents' estates on a more expensive car rather than tuition and so on for their kids.
As for the increased number of entry-level sales, some of that is probably also the result of the big discount wars of recent weeks but a lot of it also has to do with the increased number of worthy offerings, particularly Korean models from Hyundai, Kia and GM's Daewoo operation that are sold mostly as Chevrolets.
DesRosiers makes an interesting point that going to an entry-level vehicle is not the hardship that it was even a decade ago, that they are more powerful and more fuel-efficient than their predecessors from a decade ago.
The best example DesRosiers could find was the Chevrolet Cavalier, which has been one of Canada's most popular and successful vehicles over the last decade. In 1990, he points out, the base Cavalier had a 2.2-litre inline-four engine that put out 95 hp and earned 9.4L/100km and 6.5 L/100Km urban and highway fuel efficiency ratings, respectively, on Transport Canada's tests.
That's "Quite an accomplishment," DesRosiers says, and "there are many more similar examples."
At the same time that they've been getting more powerful and more fuel-efficient, entry-level vehicles have also been picking up remarkable improvements in quality, comfort and content. These numbers aren't as easy to quantify, but anyone who remembers the entry-level models of even a decade ago knows that is undeniably true. One need only look at the new Chevrolet Cobalt and the most recent Cavalier that DesRosiers praised to see the truth of that, though many other examples exist from every other car company.