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June 14, 2023NEW MOTOR VEHICLE SALES, APRIL 2023 Year-to-date (January-April 2023 vs January-April 2022, unadjusted)
In the first four months of 2023, Nova Scotia's new motor vehicle unit sales increased 1.8% when compared to the same period in 2022. The 12,065 new motor vehicles sold had a sales value of $584.9 million up 14.2% from January-April 2022.
National new motor vehicles unit sales increased 4.2%. Canada's 512,932 new motor vehicles sold in January-April 2023 represent a sales value of $28.23 billion, up 16.0% from January-April 2022.
Unit sales were up in seven provinces. Manitoba posted the largest increase in unit sales while Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island posted the largest declines.
Sales values were up in all provinces in the first four months of 2023. The largest increase was in Ontario and the smallest gain were in Saskatchewan and Quebec.
Year-to-date gain in unit sales was driven by gains in trucks/SUVs and for North American manufacturers. Unit sales for passenger cars and for overseas manufacturers were down in January-April from a year ago. Sales values were up by similar amounts for passenger cars and trucks/SUVs as well as for North Amercian and overseas manufacturers.
Trucks and SUVs make up the bulk of the market in Nova Scotia. In April 2023, trucks/SUVs accounted for 85.9% of vehicles sold in Nova Scotia and 89.1% of sales values.
North American manufacturers accounted for 72.3% of unit sales and 74.1% of sales values in Nova Scotia in April 2023.
Year-over-year (April 2023 vs April 2022, unadjusted)
Compared with April 2022, Nova Scotia unit sales of new vehicles were down 0.4%. National unit sales were up 4.1% with gains in eight provinces. Manitoba recorded the largest gain while Saskatchewan posted the largest year-over-year decline in unit sales.
The sales values of new vehicles increased 7.6% in Nova Scotia from April 2022 to April 2023. National sales values were up 14.7% with gains in all provinces. Alberta recorded the largest gain while Saskatchewan posted the slowest increase.
December, January, and February are typically slower months for unit sales and sales values of cars. But April is typically the second month in the annual sales surge. Nova Scotia's unit sales were just below the value from April 2022 but this was lower than levels typically reported in this month in prior years.
Nova Scotia sales values were up from April 2022 but still below values =reported for this month in most prior years.
Across Canada, national unit sales were up compared the same month in the previous year but were below levels from the same month in the years prior to the pandemic.
National sales values for April 2023 were higher than the same time last year, but still below highs reported in April 2018 and April 2019.
Average Prices
The average sale price of a new motor vehicle in Nova Scotia was up 12.2% in the first four months of 2023 when compared to the same period in 2022. National average prices were up 11.4% with increases in all provinces led by Prince Edward Island.
The average unit price of a new motor vehicle in Nova Scotia was $48,477 in the first four months of 2023. This was the second lowest among provinces (ahead of Newfoundland and Labrador). The national average unit price for a new motor vehicle was $55,028 with the highest value in Alberta.
In January-April 2023, average prices were notably higher for trucks/SUVs than for passenger cars. Average prices were also higher for North American manufacturers than for overseas manufacturers. For Nova Scotia note the unusual spike in average unit price for passenger cars in March 2023. This is related in part to the doubling of passenger car sales values in that month.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 20-10-0001-01 New motor vehicle sales
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