Canada's Auto Market Rebounds: July Sales Up 0.5% Year-on-Year

Canada's new-vehicle market has turned a corner after eight straight months of year-on-year declines. According to the latest data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), new-vehicle sales in July totaled 173,000 units, up 0.5% year-on-year — extending the recovery momentum seen in June, when sales rose 1.9%.

Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, noted that while the growth is modest, it carries positive significance amid current industry conditions. "A 0.5% increase might seem trivial in normal times — but these aren't normal times. We welcome any positive signal," he said. He added that although July's volume still falls short of the 182,000 units sold in July 2017, it marks the strongest July performance in nearly seven years (July 2019 saw 174,000 units sold).

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for the month stood at 1.9 million units — the highest since February this year — described by DAC as a "solid (if unspectacular) performance." Notably, brand performance varied widely: several brands posted double-digit declines, while others achieved double-digit growth.

In the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) segment, Tesla continues its recovery, significantly reversing its soft 2025 performance through increased imports of overseas models. Other ZEV brands showed mixed results, yet multiple electric models surpassed 1,000 units in monthly sales — demonstrating strong momentum.

Looking ahead to August, DAC cautions that August 2025 was the lowest SAAR month of the year — making robust year-on-year growth for August 2026 highly likely. U.S.-based AutoForecast Solutions raised its 2026 full-year Canadian new-vehicle sales forecast to 1.89 million units in its August briefing — an upward revision of 50,000 units from its July projection.

Among the ten brands reporting monthly sales, Subaru led with a 28.7% year-on-year gain; Volvo followed closely with +11.3%; Lexus (+9.6%) and TOYOTA (+8.7%) also delivered steady growth. TOYOTA's bZ series achieved its best-ever July result, selling 936 units — a surge of 84.3% year-on-year; the RAV4 family sold 6,269 units (+13.8%), including 4,550 locally built RAV4 Hybrid units in Canada, up a staggering 1,026.2% year-on-year. Honda grew overall by 4.3%, though its luxury division Acura declined 3.3%.