New vehicle sales in Canada slump in July, marking second monthly drop this year

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – The latest DesRosiers Automotive report shows new vehicle sales in Canada saw a 2.6 per cent decline in July compared to the same month last year.

The Richmond Hill, Ont.-based market research group says 173,304 vehicles were purchased last month, the second month where sales were down – the last being May, when there was a 1.6 per cent drop.

Sales of new light vehicles, however, were still up 4.6 per cent year-to-date.

Related: Auto buyers lightly tap brakes in May, first monthly decline since December

In terms of growth by brand, DesRosiers reported that Jaguar was the fastest growing brand in July after observing a 218.3 per cent surge – 331 vehicles sold compared to 104 last year.

DesRosiers says Jaguar’s new vehicles in the intermediate luxury and luxury SUV market have been the primary contributors to that growth.

A number of other brands registered double-digit increases in July, including Volvo (up 33.5 per cent), Land Rover (up 16.5 per cent) and Audi (up 14.7 per cent).