Driving By Numbers: 10 vehicles that didn't rebound in the 2021 Canadian auto industry

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There aren’t enough vehicles.

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Although Canada’s car-buying population has been conditioned to purchase and lease vehicles with healthy discounts during clear-out events, one day sales, and even matching employee pricing, demand is presently outstripping supply across great swathes of the market. Blame a microchip shortage and extreme shipping woes if you must; thank post-lockdown surges in demand, if you prefer.

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Regardless, auto sales bounced much of the way back to normal levels in 2021’s first-half . Sales rose 33 per cent compared to the same period of 2020, an increase of more than 200,000 sales. Virtually every brand is on the up-and-up. Exceptions are either low-volume marques (Jaguar and Fiat) or are wedged in the middle of major transition periods (Dodge).

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SUV/crossover volume has grown by more than 50 per cent, but even the oft-maligned passenger car market is managing to increase volume (albeit while losing market share). In the luxury sphere, Porsche has grown its volume by more than 2X compared with last year and Cadillac is up 83 per cent. Big brands, a term that definitely defines Toyota, are posting big gains, too: Toyota’s up 55 per cent. Vehicles as varied as the Acura MDX, BMW 4 Series, Buick Envision, Cadillac Escalade, Dodge Charger, Lexus IS, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Armada, Porsche Macan, Subaru Crosstrek, Toyota Supra, and Volvo XC40 have grown their sales by more than 100 per cent.

Yet a rising tide does not lift all boats, not during a post-lockdown pandemic recovery that’s shifting the foundation on which much of the auto industry is built. We’re highlighting 10 vehicles that are entirely out of touch with the Canadian auto industry’s bounce back.

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They compete in different segments and at different price points. They come from different manufacturers and are built in different parts of the world. But in every instance, they’re way off the pace.

Nissan Maxima

The competition disappeared for a reason. There’s no market for full-size volume brand sedans. From the Hyundai Azera and Kia Cadenza to the Chevrolet Impala, Buick LaCrosse, and Ford Taurus, almost every manufacturer has given up. That includes this year’s announced discontinuation of the Toyota Avalon . Maxima volume tumbled 47 per cent in 2021’s first-half to only 344 units. If Nissan wants volume at this price point, it can do so with the Murano, sales of which rose 24 per cent to 3,691 units in the January-June period.

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Land Rover Discovery

Without the visual strength of the LR4 that preceded it, not to mention Discovery predecessors, the latest Discovery was met with lacklustre demand when it appeared in 2017. There was no improvement even prior to the arrival of the highly anticipated Defender, which reeks of Land Rover heritage and operates in the same price bracket. While Discovery sales fell 41 per cent to only 105 units in 2021’s first-half, Land Rover sold 1,058 Defenders.

Nissan Leaf

If there’s an electric car revolution going on in Canada (there’s not…yet), the original mass-market electric car isn’t really taking part in it. The Leaf has a decade of marketing under its belt, but Nissan Canada is presently able to sell barely more than 100 per month. Sales fell 32 per cent to 640 during the first-half. For perspective, Nissan’s top seller is the Rogue, sales of which jumped 77 per cent to 17,462 over the first six months of 2021. The Leaf’s best year in Canada was 2018, when 5,735 were sold.

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Ford EcoSport

In a segment where the quality of competition has increased by leaps and bounds over the last couple years, the undercooked Ford EcoSport simply doesn’t measure up. Sales have fallen 32 per cent in 2021 to only 1,756 units. This is occurring during a period in which Hyundai sells over 2,600 Konas per month. The EcoSport is rapidly losing market share, and not undeservedly.

Chevrolet Camaro

In a three-vehicle muscle car segment that includes the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, the Chevrolet Camaro now generates just 14 per cent of the volume. 4,320 of these vehicles were sold in 2021’s first-half, but while Mustang volume is up 20 per cent and Challenger sales have risen 68 per cent, year-over-year, Chevrolet only sold 610 Camaros in 2021’s first-half. That’s barely 100 per month, down 27 per cent from 2020.

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Subaru Impreza

To be fair to the Impreza, the vehicle that now powers Subaru’s market share forward, the Crosstrek, is itself an Impreza in almost every way. Albeit elevated and be-cladded, the Crosstrek’s donor vehicle is an Impreza hatch. Yet while Crosstrek sales have more than doubled to 10,872 units in 2021’s first-half — that’s four out of every 10 Subarus sold in Canada — Impreza volume is down 25 per cent to 1,724 units this year.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

As recently as 2017, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was still Canada’s best-selling premium brand vehicle. The market, however, has moved to SUVs, and now the C-Class isn’t even keeping pace with the shrinking luxury car category. C-Class sales are down 21 per cent to 1,183 units in 2021’s first-half, meaning it’s not even among Canada’s 25 premium leaders.

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Hyundai Veloster

The Hyundai Veloster’s shrunken model lineup — it’s high-performance N or nothing — has done the Veloster no favours. The Veloster is a minor player for Hyundai, however, so the brand’s overall rebound, with a year-over-year increase of 43 per cent, far outpaces the market at large. Only 328 Velosters were sold in 2021’s first-half, down 20 per cent from last year. The Veloster’s best year was 2012, its first full year, when 5,741 were sold.

Chevrolet Equinox

With Canadian production shut down for much of 2021, the Chevrolet Equinox has had essentially no chance to recover from the 2020 slowdown. Sales are off 2020’s first-half pace by 20 per cent, a drop to 4,927 units. The Equinox is fortunately not GM’s only small SUV; not by a long shot. Three Buicks, one Cadillac, two other Chevrolets, and one GMC combined for another 19,731 sales. Only 8 per cent of Chevrolet’s volume now comes from the Equinox, down from 12 per cent one year ago.

Honda Odyssey

Multiple events have conspired to make the Honda Odyssey’s life in Canada difficult. First, competition has grown fierce. No longer is the Toyota Sienna a decade-old design, for example, and the Kia Carnival’s a looker, too. Second, supply issues are remarkably tight. Dealers simply don’t have Odysseys to sell. Third, interest in minivans simply isn’t what it used to be. Only 6 per cent of the vehicles sold in Canada a decade ago were minivans — now it’s only 2 per cent. Odyssey sales were down 18 per cent to 2,090 units in 2021’s first-half.