Canadian Vehicle Market in 2024 grew 8.8% in 2024, reaching 1.83 million units, continuing its recovery from the 2022 dip. The EV sector expanded too, with Tesla leading but facing rising competition from Kia.
Market Trend and Outlook
Canada’s GDP is projected to rise from 1.1% in 2024 to 2.0% in both 2025 and 2026, supported by a stronger global outlook and lower interest rates driving exports and investment. The labor market, though weakened, is expected to recover in 2025, while inflation has eased closer to target levels. However, high mortgage costs continue to weigh on consumer spending, and the housing market remains sluggish. The Bank of Canada began cutting interest rates in June 2024, with further reductions anticipated to support economic activity.
Government spending has increased, particularly on housing affordability and social programs, leading to a slightly higher deficit. Business investment rebounded in Q2, growing 2.1%, but housing investment has continued its decline since early 2022. The unemployment rate reached 6.5% in October as employment growth lags behind labor force expansion. Consumer price inflation stood at 2.0% in October, while core inflation, though slightly higher at 2.3%, has also slowed. Exports saw mixed results, with merchandise exports rising slightly in Q3, while oil exports benefited from the expanded capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline
Canada’s EV market surged 17.2% in 2024, reaching a 6.14% share of total vehicle sales and marking steady progress toward wider EV adoption.
Tesla remained the EV leader, up 15.1% and extending its five-year growth streak, but Kia’s rapid ascent, climbing eight spots, signals rising competition. Toyota and Cadillac also reported strong gains.
Overall, Canada’s vehicle market grew 8.8% in 2024, with 1.83 million units sold. After the 2022 decline, the sector maintained steady recovery, posting positive results throughout most of the year.
Looking at cumulative data up to December 2024 brand-wise, Ford secured leadership position, growing 20.5% and posting 249,881 new registrations.In 2nd place ranked Toyota with 209,230 sales (+6.6%), followed in 3rd by Chevrolet with 154,107 units sold (+13.7%).
Hyundai kept 4th spot with 131,715 sales and a 13.9% growth in year-on-year performance. Honda ranked 5th with 123,711 sales (+9.9%), followed by GMC at 100,203 (+4.2%), Nissan at 96,762 (+13.6%), Kia with 86,657 units sold (+2.2%), Volkswagen -up 1 spot- with 81,742 new registrations (+28.2%) and Mazda -up 1 spot- in 10th place with 72,226 sales (+23.2%).
Looking at specific models, reported in the dedicated article, the Ford F-series was still the best seller (+5.7%), followed by the Toyota RAV4 (+3.8%), which grew 1 spot.
Medium-Term Market Trend
Following an impressive series of 8 consecutive growths, the Canadian domestic light vehicles market in 2017 broke the 2 million units milestone, hitting the current all-time record and entering the club of the top 10 largest global vehicle industries.
However, such an outstanding level was not maintained for long. In 2019 (-3.7%) the market entered in a negative phase that has not yet come to an end. In 2022 the market maintained this downfall, losing 7.6%, reaching 1.51 million sales and reporting losses in 11 out of 12 months.
As one of the world’s top producers of light vehicles – 1.4 million vehicles are assembled at the Canadian plants of Stellantis, Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota each year, supplied by nearly 700 parts suppliers – Canada’s automotive sector relies heavily on global supply chains.
Following significant losses borne by the global automotive industry in the wake of border closures, factory lockdowns and semiconductor chip shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s sector has been especially vulnerable to supply chain constraints.
Automakers have been driven to pursue leaner and more creative risk mitigation and cost-efficient strategies to bypass further disruption, including strengthening relationships or dual sourcing with suppliers to increase supply chain flexibility, diversifying markets, and building inventory.
Only in 2023 was the country’s vehicle market able to recover, growing in all 12 months and 1.69 million new vehicle registrations, an 11.4% increase from 2022.
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for all Brands and top 10 Groups.
