The automotive market, like any other, is ruled by the offer & demand. Holidays, taxes, vacation, global economy, media and any other factor can affect it, but it is somehow regular and cyclic. On this article, I will share my point of view based on the sales cycle last year, for the top 3 selling vehicles in Canada:
- Ford F-Series Pickups
- Dodge Ram Pickups
- Honda Civic
Car Leasing/Sales Numbers
Regarding statistic, a lease is also a sale so that we can simplify the terminology to just the total amount of sales for a specific period. Following, the total monthly number of sales of the top 3 vehicles among all variants, submodels, and variations of the same base model.
December to February is the "Low Season"
It is noticeable how low sales go from December to February for all three vehicles, contrasting with the rest of the year. Reasons? Here are some of them:
- December Holidays usually mean "overspending": With multiple holiday days, gifts, family dinners, and the usual vacation, mostly for kids, it is normal that December is that month of the year when you do not expect to acquire a new vehicle.
- Taxes: Personal income tax is usually filed from January to April, but mostly before the end of March. Makes total sense that people are either waiting for the returns or saving for paying the balance owed to the CRA provincial taxation entities.
- New models releases: And this is kind of a subjective fact, but influences a lot too. By December, most programs promote the sale of the old models (in this example, 2017 ones) by overpricing the new ones (2018). This counterpart with the fact that consumer prefers to acquire a more recent vehicle than one from a year ago, resulting in the fact that, the low level of sales is mostly inventory from 2017 models.
- Vacation Planning: People in Canada love the Caribbean and more than anything during Winter. December to February sounds like the perfect moment to take a break and postpone everything for the Spring. Any "potential downpayment" can quickly transform into a roundtrip for two at the beach.
It is in months like January or February that we can see those crazy offers like the ones from the past month of Nissan offering the AWD SUVs at the same price than the FWD ones.
March to September: The "High Season"
Yes, the High Season and the period where 70%-80% of the vehicles sold during the year are signed and delivered. These are the most stable months of the year for people who live in Canada. Even the road seems way more attractive than during winter.
Reasons? I guess you know ;)
