New Record for New Car Sales - May Surpasses Monthly Record by Wide Margin

OTTAWA, June 11, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian retail automotive market posted a new monthly sales record in May, with more than 195,000 new cars and trucks sold across Canada last month. This represents the best sales month in the history of the Canadian new vehicle market.

"This is great news for our dealer network, obviously, but also for the economy as a whole and for Canadian consumers," said Michael Hatch, Chief Economist of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA). "Consumers are responding to an optimistic and rebounding industry, with high levels of product affordability and the best product choice we've ever seen. New car prices have mostly defied regular inflationary pressures in the past decade and we're seeing that manifested in record levels of demand."

The industry has gone through many changes and challenges since the recession of 2009 and the restructuring of much of the North American auto industry that came in its wake.

"Coming out of a record sales year in 2013, it would have been easy to predict a less enthusiastic consumer this year," continued Hatch. "The month of May was always going to be key in determining whether or not we'd continue to see the kind of sales growth we saw in 2013, or whether the consumer would pull back and flatline car sales and other important indicators. May is the start of the spring selling season. It's the month that always has the highest sales of the year. A weak May can hurt an entire year's results. Obviously we have seen the very opposite this year: a better month than we've ever seen, setting the stage for what is now sure to be another record year in the Canadian car market."

"Our dealership network experienced some serious setbacks over the past number of years," continued Hatch. "That we can stand today with a new sales record for the Canadian market is a huge accomplishment. Record levels of new car demand in the marketplace mean that consumers are confident in the economy's performance and that's great news for car dealers, their customers, and all Canadians.

"Overall the record was driven by historic levels of new vehicle affordability and quality combined with solid consumer demand," concluded Hatch.

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) is the national association for franchised automobile dealerships that sell new cars and trucks. Our 3,300 dealers represent a key sector of Canada's economy. Through our dealers, we are represented in nearly every community and those dealers collectively employ over 130,000 people across the country.

SOURCE: CANADIAN AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION (CADA)

CADA Public Affairs, Telephone : [phone]