7 Surprising Facts About Third-Quarter New Vehicle Sales in Canada
7 Surprising Stats About Third-Quarter New Vehicle Sales in Canada
New vehicle sales in Canada after the first three quarters of 2025 are up 4.5% compared to the same period in 2024, according to estimates from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
- Also: New Vehicle Sales Reach Highest Point Since Start of Pandemic
- Also: Tariffs’ Impact Yet to Be Felt as New Vehicle Sales Rise 4.3 Percent in First Half
Surprised? Well, many people could be, what with the trade war launched by the United States in the spring and the tariffs that have been implemented on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. Then again, Statistics Canada revealed a few weeks ago that the second quarter of 2025 saw the highest number of new quarterly registrations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, we don’t have the full picture yet (and can’t) when it comes to the Canadian auto industry’s performance from July to September, since not all automakers have released their latest figures and Ford Canada only does so at the end of the year. Nevertheless, upon reviewing some of the data currently available, a few surprising facts jump out. Here are seven:
1. Zombie Vehicles
Stellantis has arguably no equal when it comes to selling new vehicles that have long been discontinued. The third quarter of 2025 provided further proof. Dodge sold two gasoline-powered Charger and one Challenger, while three Chrysler 300 sedans found takers. Worse still, Jeep sold a new Cherokee even though production ended in March of 2023.
2. Italian Luxury For a Select Few
The Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio posted sales increases of 100% and 73%, respectively, but the Italian luxury brand still sold just 181 vehicles in Canada during the entire quarter. Blame the Tonale (-57%) if you want. That's less than half the sales of the Fiat 500e, the cheapest electric car in the country, which benefits from major discounts.
3. Minivans Are Back!
Chrysler continues to be on a roll: Pacifica sales jumped 84% and Grand Caravan sales jumped 65% in the third quarter of 2025. This is one of the few bright spots at Stellantis—and further evidence of the minivan segment's revival.
4. Did Nissan Win or Lose?
Nissan's overall third-quarter sales rose 7.6% despite the halt in imports of three U.S.-made vehicles: the Frontier, Murano and Pathfinder. It's a good thing dealers had stocked up before the tariffs were imposed. Oh, and by the way, four Nissan models (Rogue, Kicks, Kicks Play, Sentra) individually beat the combined sales of the full Infiniti lineup.
5. Well Done, Mazda
Another vehicle whose imports have stopped due to tariffs is the Mazda CX-50. That was on May 12. However, dealers carried enough units to last through the following months, selling 296 of them in September alone. Meanwhile, the Mexican-built Mazda3 and CX-30 are suddenly quite popular: these two models increased their Canadian sales by 63.4% and 69.4% last month compared to 2024.
6. Cars and M Models Shine at BMW
During the third quarter of 2025, BMW’s SUV sales were down 16.4% year-over-year, mainly due to the suspension of imports of the U.S.-built X3 (above) and X5 from early April to late summer. Meanwhile, sales of German-made BMW cars were up 11.3%. Then there's this: nearly a quarter of all BMW models sold in Canada in 2025 sport an "M" badge, putting Canada among the top three global markets for BMW M's share of total sales.
7. Half of Toyotas are Electrified
Toyota continued to enjoy strong demand for its electrified models. These vehicles accounted for no less than 49.4% of total Toyota and Lexus vehicle sales in the third quarter. The Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hybrid, Prius Plug-in Hybrid and Sienna Hybrid all recorded their best quarter and September ever.
