Small Car Sales In Canada - December 2016 & 2016 Year End

Automotive

Canadian sales of compact cars slid 7% in 2016 as even the top-selling car – Honda's Civic, the best-selling car in Canada in 19 consecutive years – posted a sales loss in the first year of its all-new tenth-gen iteration.

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Canada Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - 2016 Year End
Canada Car Sales Rankings By Model - 2016 Year End

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Civic market share increased, of course, as its rate of decline was far less severe than the rate of decline across the category. The sentiment is the same with the second-ranked Hyundai Elantra (up 2%) and third-ranked Toyota Corolla (down 3%.) But the Mazda 3, Chevrolet Cruze, and Volkswagen Jetta combined to lose 19,000 sales.

Click Chart To Expand

Canadian sales of subcompact cars tumbled 13% in 2016 as consumers increasingly saw the benefit of spending very little more on a compact car, and getting measurably more space, greater refinement, more power, and scarcely worse fuel consumption. 

The Hyundai Accent, down 1% in 2016, led the subcompact category.

Of course, across both sectors, consumers are swiftly turning to SUVs/crossovers when it comes time to acquire a new car. While car sales in Canada slid 7% in 2016, the auto industry as a whole jumped 3% to record heights. SUV/crossover volume rose 10% as utility vehicles outsold cars by a margin of 1.2-to-1.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly Canadian auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank small cars of all kinds any which way you like. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page. Mobile users can now thumb across the tables for full-width access.

Click Column Headers To Sort • January 2017 • November 2016 • December 2015

Compact	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	% Change	2016	2015	%  Change
Acura ILX *	187	267	-30.0%	2459	2551	-3.6%
Buick Verano	308	424	-27.4%	7244	6360	13.9%
Chevrolet Cruze	2760	1706	61.8%	26,824	31,958	-16.1%
Dodge Dart	93	144	-35.4%	1405	3061	-54.1%
Ford Focus	1062	1033	2.8%	16,627	21,101	-21.2%
Honda Civic	3164	3987	-20.6%	64,552	64,950	-0.6%
Hyundai Elantra	1852	2054	-9.8%	48,875	47,722	2.4%
Kia Forte	579	391	48.1%	12,296	11,378	8.1%
Mazda 3	1822	2078	-12.3%	27,689	34,811	-20.5%
Mitsubishi Lancer	458	444	3.2%	6575	6008	9.4%
Nissan Sentra	511	887	-42.4%	14,281	14,940	-4.4%
Scion iM	8	179	-95.5%	2569	943	172%
Subaru Impreza	758	705	7.5%	11,673	11,426	2.2%
Toyota Corolla	2215	2280	-2.9%	45,626	47,198	-3.3%
Toyota Matrix	---	---	---	---	295	-100%
Volkswagen Golf	1041	1615	-35.5%	19,966	20,515	-2.7%
Volkswagen Jetta	636	1411	-54.9%	20,954	27,719	-24.4%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	17,454	19,605	-11.0%	329,615	352,936	-6.6%

Subcompact	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	% Change	2016	2015	% Change
Chevrolet Sonic	383	301	27.2%	4404	5763	-23.6%
Ford Fiesta	132	495	-73.3%	3093	5646	-45.2%
Honda Fit	1184	455	160%	8622	9088	-5.1%
Hyundai Accent	624	706	-11.6%	19,198	19,371	-0.9%
Kia Rio	320	408	-21.6%	7636	9761	-21.8%
Mazda 2	---	3	-100%	27	761	-96.5%
Nissan Versa	436	443	-1.6%	7417	9120	-18.7%
Toyota Prius C	139	78	78.2%	3135	3029	3.5%
Toyota Yaris	397	428	-7.2%	7779	8196	-5.1%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	3615	3317	9.0%	61,311	70,735	-13.3%

City Car	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	% Change	2016	2015	% Change
Chevrolet Spark	185	53	249%	3657	1561	134%
Mitsubishi Mirage	189	159	18.9%	3112	3361	-7.4%
Nissan Micra	453	747	-39.4%	9896	11,909	-16.9%
Scion iQ	---	24	-100%	2	277	-99.3%
Smart Fortwo	228	36	533%	1875	716	162%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	1055	1019	3.5%	18,542	17,824	4.0%

Warm Hatches	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	% Change	2016	2015	% Change
Fiat 500 *	81	129	-37.2%	1010	2955	-65.8%
Hyundai Veloster *	58	96	-39.6%	1831	2971	-38.4%
Mini Cooper *	350	441	-20.6%	5915	5638	4.9%
Scion tC *	11	54	-79.6%	868	1135	-23.5%
Volkswagen Beetle *	122	76	60.5%	2402	2347	2.3%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	622	796	-21.9%	12,026	15,046	-20.1%

Tall Hatchbacks  & Crossovers	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	% Change	2016	2015	% Change
Buick Encore *	274	285	-3.9%	5533	4915	12.6%
Chevrolet Trax *	489	590	-17.1%	9072	8156	11.2%
Fiat 500L	18	69	-73.9%	297	1948	-84.8%
Fiat 500X *	29	56	-48.2%	766	609	25.8%
Honda HR-V *	1240	779	59.2%	12,371	8959	38.1%
Kia Soul	743	812	-8.5%	12,672	13,335	-5.0%
Mazda CX-3 *	612	687	-10.9%	9354	6861	36.3%
Mercedes-Benz B-Class *	162	169	-4.1%	2461	2356	4.5%
Mini Countryman *	---	84	-100%	694	1412	-50.8%
Mitsubishi RVR *	451	364	23.9%	6196	5786	7.1%
Nissan Cube	---	---	---	---	2	-100%
Nissan Juke *	214	271	-21.0%	4442	4473	-0.7%
Scion xB	---	27	-100%	47	948	-95.0%
Scion xD	---	---	---	---	27	-100%
Subaru Crosstrek *	673	599	12.4%	9723	8422	15.4%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	4905	4792	2.4%	73,628	68,209	7.9%

Source: Automakers & Global Automakers Of Canada
* indicates a vehicle which is also shown in another GCBC segment breakdown.
GCBC isn't here to break down segments, an impossible task for any group, but to display sales data for the sake of comparison. The more ways sales data can be displayed, the better. This explains why you'll see the Encore and XV Crosstrek are listed with small SUVs, too, and the Acura ILX shown with mainstream cars is also displayed with luxury cars... because readers have wanted it both ways. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts.

RECOMMENDED READING
Small Car Sales In Canada - January 2017
Small Car Sales In Canada - November 2016
Small Car Sales In Canada - December 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - December 2016
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - December 2016
Midsize Car Sales In Canada - December & 2016 Year End

Automotive