Driving By Numbers: Canada's 10 best-selling vehicles in 2021's first six months

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Devastation was keenly felt by all corners of the Canaidan auto industry in the second quarter of 2020. Sales in Canada’s new vehicle market fell by nearly 50 percent.

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Fast-forward to 2021, and second-quarter sales volume increased by slightly more than 50 percent. It doesn’t take a mathematical wizard to know that the market hasn’t bounced all the way back. 2021’s second-quarter revival basically represents a return to the halfway mark.

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But that’s what recovery looks like. It doesn’t happen all at once, it can’t happen overnight, and it’s not a case of instantly unbending a curve. Auto sales will take time to return to the glory days of the 2013 to 2019 era, though it may not be for a lack of demand. Inventory shortages are cramping dealers’ style. These are businesses based on carrying upwards of a 60-day supply, yet over much of the last six or more months, many dealers simply deliver what rolls of the truck.

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In other words, the 480,000-plus vehicles sold in Canada in 2021’s second quarter (and the nearly 870,000 sold in 2021’s first half) do not represent the entirety of the Canadian consumer’s demand for new vehicles. There are more sales to be had out there in the great Canadian landscape, if only the vehicles existed to be sold.

And perhaps nowhere is that more true than among many of Canada’s most popular models. This is a grouping of the 10-best-selling nameplates in Canada during 2021’s first six months: four pickups, two passenger cars, four utility vehicles. The majority have at one time or another been in short supply throughout the start of the year. Many still are. Many are faced with being in that position for the foreseeable future. Yet as a group of 10, they still account for basically four out of every 10 vehicles sold in Canada.

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While the market added 217,000 extra sales in 2021’s first six months compared to the same period one year earlier, these 10 models alone accounted for an additional 70,000. They are, each in their own right, powerhouses. Dominant, steam-rolling, profitable vehicles that Canadians know and, evidently, love.

10. Hyundai Kona: 15,715, up 67 percent

One of two vehicles welcomed into the top 10 in 2021’s first half that weren’t among the leaders at this stage of 2020, the Hyundai Kona is also now quite clearly the best-selling Hyundai in Canada. It’s also Canada’s top-selling subcompact crossover.

Hyundai continues to broaden the Kona range – there’s a new performance-oriented N Line variant for 2022 – and stick it to rivals on pricing, as well. Even the Kia Seltos with which the Kona shares a platform and parent company has a base price some $1,400 higher. The Chevrolet Trailblazer, Ford EcoSport, Subaru Crosstrek, Honda HR-V, and Mazda CX-30? They’re all more costly, too.

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9. Nissan Rogue: 17,462, up 77 percent

Narrowly out of the top 10 at this point one year ago, the third-generation Rogue is now solidly established as a bona fide hit for Nissan. And, boy, did Nissan ever need the Rogue to be a hit. The Rogue accounts for more than one-third of the brand’s Canadian sales and outsells the brand’s car division by more than two-to-one. Though a long way from catching Canada’s two top-selling utility vehicles (both of which are built in Canada, unlike the Rogue) the Rogue is 11-percent clear of the next-best-selling Kona.

8. Honda Civic: 20,243, up 11 percent

Well, this isn’t right. As recently as 2008, the Civic was Canada’s best-selling vehicle overall. As recently as 2018, the Civic held steady on the podium. And as recently as the first quarter of this year, the Civic was still Canada’s best-selling passenger car.

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To be fair, the Civic is transitioning into a new 11th-generation model as we speak, and it trails the leading car by only 329 units. Yet given the way in which Canadians are fleeing the car market, there is surely concern at Honda that the new Civic may be in danger of surrendering its dominant position. It’s been Canada’s best-selling car for 23 consecutive years.

7. Toyota Corolla: 20,572, up 39 percent

On the strength of one quarter – April to June – in which the Corolla outsold the Honda Civic by an average of four country-wide units per day, the Toyota Corolla is presently Canada’s best-selling car. The Corolla hasn’t yet claimed that status on an annual basis, nor is it by any means secure in its marginal leadership status. But don’t be surprised if Toyota Canada, or at least some of its dealers, take a great deal of (potentially temporary) pride in out-selling the 23-time champion.

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6. Honda CR-V: 26,716, up 51 percent

What’s wrong with a 51-percent year-over-year gain in a market that’s up “just” 33 percent? What’s wrong with a second-quarter improvement of 79-percent year-over-year in a market that grew at a 52-percent clip? The problem, of course, is the Honda CR-V’s all-conquering rival.

Yes, Toyota RAV4 sales are growing even faster: 84 percent so far this year; 128 percent over the last three months. The CR-V is, by almost any standard, an immense success for Honda Canada. It’s just not quite successful enough to overtake its chief rival. In fact, it’s no longer even close.

5. Chevrolet Silverado: 30,399, up 29 percent

In a Canadian full-size truck market where sales are up only 14 percent due to severe supply constraints caused by global microchip shortages, the Chevrolet Silverado’s 29-percent jump in 2021’s first six months is a deeply meaningful outcome. Combined with its GMC Sierra twin, GM’s tag-team is outselling Canada’s No. 1 truck line by nearly 4,000 units so far this year.

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4. GMC Sierra: 32,866, up 33 percent

Although GM Canada is enjoying success with its electric Chevrolet Bolt, full-size SUVs, and new crossovers such as the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX, full-size trucks are still the major volume drivers and producers of profit. In the first half of 2021, GM’s big twins are exerting a great deal of force in Canada’s truck market — their combined market share is up to 38 percent from 33 percent one year ago; and 30 percent two years ago. But to see how important they are to GM Canada, consider this: 49 percent of the automaker’s sales are full-size trucks.

3. Toyota RAV4: 37,908, up 84 percent

It’s the best-selling Toyota, Canada’s top-selling SUV, and Canada’s top-selling Canadian-built vehicle. The Toyota RAV4 is also gaining market share at a prodigious rate. We don’t just mean in the small SUV/crossover realm in which the RAV4 competes — we mean in the overall market. One year ago, 3.2 percent of the vehicles sold in Canada were RAV4s. That was a big number for one nameplate, but now that figure has jumped to 4.4 percent.

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2. Ram P/U: 39,784, up 10 percent

Rewind to 2019. Sure, it seems like a lifetime ago, but think back to a year in which Ram’s full-size truck momentum was picking up speed. 96,763 Ram pickups were sold in Canada in 2019, a record for any vehicle line not named “F-Series.” 2020 killed that momentum, obviously. But in a 2021 that should allow the Ram to bounce most of the way back, dealers simply don’t have enough trucks to sell.

1. Ford F-Series: 59,321, up 5 percent

Oh, to only have more microchips. With a new F-150 landing this past winter, a high-demand truck market, and a serious pandemic recovery underway, Ford’s F-Series sales are supposed to be up by at least 33 percent. That would place the F-Series on track with the market.

Instead, F-150s and Super Dutys simply aren’t landing on dealer lots in sufficiently meaningful numbers. In fact, F-150 stock isn’t even close to sufficient. Many dealers are left with a handful to support the best-selling nameplate on the market.

As a result, F-Series market share across the entire Canadian market is down to 6.8 percent from 8.7 percent one year ago. During the same period, the F-Series’ share of Canada’s full-size truck sector dipped below 36 percent — it was nudging 39 percent a year ago.