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The Toyota Corolla and Mazda Protegé moved into second and third spots behind runaway leader the Honda Civic in sales during the first half of this year, industry figures show.
The Corolla and Protegé compacts bumped the Chevrolet Cavalier and Ford Focus from their positions, reflecting a continuing shift by consumers away from cars of the Big Three North American auto makers to Japanese models.
In the last three years, offshore-based manufacturers from Japan, Europe and Korea have increased their share of the car market from 44 per cent to 55 per cent in Canada.
Analysts say the offshore-based companies, who produce several popular models in Canada, continue to make steady gains because of quality, reliability and prices that are now extremely competitive.
"They're providing good value for consumers in Canada where affordability is a major issue," said Chris Travell, vice-president of Maritz Automotive Research.
Among trucks, including minivans and sport-utility vehicles, there was little change in rankings among the top sellers.
The Dodge Caravan minivan remains the top selling truck and vehicle in the country with more than 47,000 deliveries in the January to June period. The General Motors Silverado and Sierra and Ford F-Series pickups continue to hold the second and third spots in the truck category.
However, two Honda models made the top 10 trucks for the first time. The Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicle and the company's Odyssey minivan jumped into eighth and tenth spots.
In the car category, Civic sales climbed more than 10 per cent to 35,871 in the first half from the same period last year. The strong showing gave the Civic a lead of almost 10,000 over its nearest rival, the Corolla. The Civic — the country's top selling car since 1998 — and the Corolla are made in Ontario.
"The Civic is the most popular car by far because it appeals to a broad range of people," said analyst Dennis DesRosiers. "Young people like it because it's stylish and not expensive. Older drivers like it because it's so reliable."
Corolla sales shot up 21.6 per cent to 25,921 and Protegé deliveries soared 23 per cent to 25,847. Sales of the Cavalier and Focus slipped 1.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.
Focus sales in Canada dropped to 20,609, which pulled it down to sixth place. The Pontiac Sunfire moved into fifth spot as its sales rose 8.9 per cent to 21,395.
The Focus compact is still the most popular car in the world despite recalls in North America that have hurt sales during the last two years.
One of the biggest surprises in the first half was the jump by the Toyota Camry intermediate model from 17th place to seventh. Sales of the Camry, one of the most popular cars in the United States for years, leaped almost 70 per cent to 14,875.
Travell said price cuts for the Camry and Corolla models were a key reason for the improvements.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for a Camry LE with a four-cylinder, five speed manual transmission dropped $800 to $23,755, while the base cost for the Corolla four-cylinder, five-speed model fell $475 to $15,290.
DesRosiers also noted that the Camry's sales soared despite no major incentives, which manufacturers slapped on many other models.
The Nissan Altima intermediate model also made a big splash into the top 20. Its first half sales climbed a whopping 240 per cent to 8,496.
Most of the popular trucks improved business except for the General Motors Venture, Montana and Silhouette minivans, which dipped slightly, and the Ford Windstar, which fell 8.7 per cent.
The Dodge Ram and Dakota models showed the most gains among pickups with huge increases of 40 and 26 per cent, respectively.
The Ford Explorer held on to the title of top sport-utility vehicle as sales rose 18.7 per cent to 12,377.
But the Honda CR-V became a formidable rival with its sales jumping 89 per cent to 10,899 in the first half更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
The Toyota Corolla and Mazda Protegé moved into second and third spots behind runaway leader the Honda Civic in sales during the first half of this year, industry figures show.
The Corolla and Protegé compacts bumped the Chevrolet Cavalier and Ford Focus from their positions, reflecting a continuing shift by consumers away from cars of the Big Three North American auto makers to Japanese models.
In the last three years, offshore-based manufacturers from Japan, Europe and Korea have increased their share of the car market from 44 per cent to 55 per cent in Canada.
Analysts say the offshore-based companies, who produce several popular models in Canada, continue to make steady gains because of quality, reliability and prices that are now extremely competitive.
"They're providing good value for consumers in Canada where affordability is a major issue," said Chris Travell, vice-president of Maritz Automotive Research.
Among trucks, including minivans and sport-utility vehicles, there was little change in rankings among the top sellers.
The Dodge Caravan minivan remains the top selling truck and vehicle in the country with more than 47,000 deliveries in the January to June period. The General Motors Silverado and Sierra and Ford F-Series pickups continue to hold the second and third spots in the truck category.
However, two Honda models made the top 10 trucks for the first time. The Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicle and the company's Odyssey minivan jumped into eighth and tenth spots.
In the car category, Civic sales climbed more than 10 per cent to 35,871 in the first half from the same period last year. The strong showing gave the Civic a lead of almost 10,000 over its nearest rival, the Corolla. The Civic — the country's top selling car since 1998 — and the Corolla are made in Ontario.
"The Civic is the most popular car by far because it appeals to a broad range of people," said analyst Dennis DesRosiers. "Young people like it because it's stylish and not expensive. Older drivers like it because it's so reliable."
Corolla sales shot up 21.6 per cent to 25,921 and Protegé deliveries soared 23 per cent to 25,847. Sales of the Cavalier and Focus slipped 1.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.
Focus sales in Canada dropped to 20,609, which pulled it down to sixth place. The Pontiac Sunfire moved into fifth spot as its sales rose 8.9 per cent to 21,395.
The Focus compact is still the most popular car in the world despite recalls in North America that have hurt sales during the last two years.
One of the biggest surprises in the first half was the jump by the Toyota Camry intermediate model from 17th place to seventh. Sales of the Camry, one of the most popular cars in the United States for years, leaped almost 70 per cent to 14,875.
Travell said price cuts for the Camry and Corolla models were a key reason for the improvements.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for a Camry LE with a four-cylinder, five speed manual transmission dropped $800 to $23,755, while the base cost for the Corolla four-cylinder, five-speed model fell $475 to $15,290.
DesRosiers also noted that the Camry's sales soared despite no major incentives, which manufacturers slapped on many other models.
The Nissan Altima intermediate model also made a big splash into the top 20. Its first half sales climbed a whopping 240 per cent to 8,496.
Most of the popular trucks improved business except for the General Motors Venture, Montana and Silhouette minivans, which dipped slightly, and the Ford Windstar, which fell 8.7 per cent.
The Dodge Ram and Dakota models showed the most gains among pickups with huge increases of 40 and 26 per cent, respectively.
The Ford Explorer held on to the title of top sport-utility vehicle as sales rose 18.7 per cent to 12,377.
But the Honda CR-V became a formidable rival with its sales jumping 89 per cent to 10,899 in the first half更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net