The pandemic and the vehicle shortages that followed it created chaos in the automotive market. Some brands managed to consistently get some inventory to dealers, some saw availability ebb and flow, and some brands experienced sustained inventory troubles that continue to persist today.
Amidst these unprecedented dynamics, the new light vehicle sales market share among reporting Canadian brands saw significant changes. While a single snapshot can not tell the whole story the chart above details the percentage change in market share from 2019 year end compared to the first half of 2023. Using this metric, a new entrant, Genesis, understandably established itself as the standout performer, with the brand seeing it’s market share grow by 395% between 2019 and the first half of 2023, now accounting for 0.4% of the market. Another lower-volume player in the market to see significant gains was Maserati whose market share grew by 114%. The luxury market as a whole has been booming in 2022 and 2023 – so it is also no surprise to see Lexus and Porsche performing strongly with market shares rising 50% and 46%. DAC will be covering the remarkable performance of the luxury segment in more detail in a future release.
Amongst higher volume brands Mitsubishi also saw significant success since 2019, with market share rising 65% while Kia rounds out the top 6 with a 32% gain. In terms of raw percentage point increase, General Motors saw its market share rise from 13.4% in 2019 to 15.7% for the first half of 2023. “The automotive market is still facing unprecedented dynamics” commented Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC. He continued “Vehicle availability has acted as a key determinant of performance alongside more traditional variables such as consumer choice and pricing, leading to some unusual shifts in market share.”
Azarov, D. DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. (2023, July 19). The Pandemic and Vehicle Shortages: Ongoing Shifts in Market Share.