Despite continuing supply shortages, new vehicle sales in Canada gained slightly at the start of this year.

According to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), Canadian new vehicle sales reached 91,411 units for January, which represents a 0.6% increase over January 2021 numbers.

Looking at sales provincially across Canada, Quebec was the only jurisdiction where new vehicle sales improved year-over-year. The provincial total for 21,648 units—a sizable 49.6% gain on January 2021 (14,472). It is important to bear in mind however, that Quebec saw major declines in sales volumes in January 2021 (39.1%), so the gains for 2022 represent a great deal of covering lost ground.

Declines elsewhere

Elsewhere across Canada, new vehicle volumes continued to experience declines in January. Ontario experienced the lowest decline–its January 2022 sales numbers (35,076) represented a 5.6% decline over 2021. Saskatchewan was behind Ontario in terms of smallest percentage declines, with its 2,730 sales representing a drop of 7.6% over 2021.

The biggest percentage losses in terms of volume could be found in Manitoba (23.2% decline), Nova Scotia (17.6%) and Prince Edward Island (15.1).

While supply concerns continue to persist, the fact that this year’s January auto sales witnessed a return to more normal patterns, indicates that slowly, the new car sector is starting to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues.