The third quarter brought notable shifts in Canada’s light vehicle sales picture, with several key segments moving sharply in opposite directions — developments that carry clear implications for jobbers, distributors, and repair networks.

According to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), the subcompact car segment — always one of the most volatile — saw its earlier momentum stall, with Q3 sales down 33.7%. That pullback knocked it out of the year’s top-performing segments after a strong first half.

By contrast, intermediate cars rebounded sharply, up 43.3% in the quarter, led by standout results for the Toyota Prius and Camry. While the overall passenger car category continues its long-term slide, DAC noted that certain fuel-efficient mid-size models are benefitting from sustained demand among cost-conscious buyers facing higher borrowing and fuel costs.

Year-to-date, the biggest gainers by percentage growth were:

• Small pickup trucks + 38.9%
• Small vans + 38.6%
• Compact luxury cars + 31.8%

Growth in small pickups was widespread across brands, while small van volumes were buoyed by renewed demand for family and commercial use vehicles such as the Chrysler Pacifica.

At the other end of the spectrum, the luxury car segment dropped 46.9%, while sports cars declined 18.8%. DAC Managing Partner Andrew King said the luxury slide was largely tied to the collapse of Tesla Model 3 sales, which “has distorted the overall segment’s performance significantly.”

Fleet Structure Points to Ongoing Shift

For the parts and service community, understanding the fleet mix is key to anticipating demand. Statistics Canada data show that in 2023 there were 25.7 million registered road motor vehicles in the country, with light-duty vehicles (cars, SUVs, pickups, vans) making up 91.7% of the total.

Within that group, multi-purpose vehicles (SUVs and crossovers) continue to expand their dominance, accounting for nearly 40% of the light-duty fleet, while passenger cars have fallen to around 36%. The balance is primarily pickup trucks and vans — the same categories driving parts and maintenance activity in the independent sector.

Electrified vehicles (battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid) still make up only 3.9% of light-duty registrations, up from 3.0% a year earlier. That means more than nine out of ten vehicles on Canadian roads still rely on internal-combustion powertrains, ensuring continued strength in the replacement-parts market for the foreseeable future.

Aftermarket Affects

For jobbers and distributors, as Canada’s new-vehicle market tilts further toward pickups, vans, and crossovers, replacement demand will follow. SUVs, small trucks, and light-commercial platforms are the sweet spot for both OE and aftermarket supply, with higher parts counts and heavier service intervals than sedans.

Conversely, the shrinking base of passenger cars — and particular weakness in luxury and sports models — signals declining future volume for some traditional service categories.

Quarterly sales fluctuations come and go, but the structure of Canada’s vehicle fleet tells the longer story: the country’s repair and parts market remains overwhelmingly driven by internal-combustion light trucks and crossovers, and that is where the real opportunity for growth continues to build.