According to the U.S. Automotive News, the latest data from Canadian auto consulting firm DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) shows that due to the sharp decline in sales of pure electric vehicles and the high base for the same period last year, Canada’s new car sales in February this year fell 8.2% year-on-year.
DAC managing partner Andrew King said Canada’s estimated sales last month were 122,000 units, although it fell by 8.2% year-on-year, but taking into account the high level in the same period last year, the sales of new cars in the Canadian market last month remained stable. It should be pointed out that most automakers will not announce monthly sales in the Canadian market, but will announce quarterly sales.
According to the U.S. Automobile News Research and Data Center, Toyota’s sales in Canada fell the most last month at 24.7% (selling 11,660 units), followed by Kia (stopping 10.9%), Honda (stopping 6.4%), Volvo (stopping 4.3%) and Subaru (stopping 1.8%). Hyundai achieved a year-on-year growth of 6.5% with sales of 9,200 units. Mazda, with its strong performance of 988 CX-50 models (nearly doubled year-on-year), drove the brand’s overall sales to 4,559 units.
Foreign media reported that February 2025 can be called the “darkest moment” of the Canadian electric vehicle market, which is in sharp contrast to the relative stability of the overall market. Canadian electric vehicle consumers lost policy support for the first time in February as the hasty ended Canada’s federal Zero-Emission Vehicles program was rushing to end in January and the suspension of Quebec subsidy program. DAC’s report shows that “the sales of a large number of pure electric models have experienced a cliff-like decline, and the sales of the entire segment plummeted.”
Specifically, the sales of Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 models fell sharply by 37.9% and 81.4% year-on-year respectively; the sales of Toyota bZ4X plummeted from 399 to 107; and the sales of Kia EV5 plummeted from 457 to 65.
Last month, despite the annualized sales of new cars (SAAR) in Canada reached 2 million, and the retail market was still at a “healthy” level, the DAC warned that tariffs could disrupt the momentum. The 25% tariff planned by the U.S. government on Canadian cars, the tariff on steel and aluminum products on March 12 and the Canadian government’s retaliatory tariffs will all have a significant impact.