Canada’s auto market dipped slightly in 2008, falling especially sharply at the end of the year, but the Honda Civic was able to take advantage of an increased appetite for passenger cars to claim not just best-selling car status but the title of Canada’s best-selling vehicle overall.
Honda had never previously sold as many Civics in Canada as they did in 2008, nor have they since. The Civic needed Ford F-Series volume to slide in order to grab the top spot, and F-Series volume slid, indeed. The 8% drop equalled a drop of 5869 units. F-Series sales slid by 1250 units in December alone. The economic climate was not a pleasant one.
• Top 40 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada – 2007 Year End
• Top 40 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada – 2009 Year End
SUVs were again led by the Ford Escape, and the Toyota RAV4 surged to take the second spot in the category as Honda CR-V sales decreased slightly. Six other utility vehicles joined the top trio in the group of Canada’s top 40 sellers.
Sales of the Dodge Grand Caravan plummeted 28%, but Chrysler did sell an extra 3334 copies of the DGC’s twin, the Town & Country. Cars generated just a quarter of all Chrysler Group sales, and more than a third of those car sales were produced by the disappointing Caliber.
These were Canada’s 40 best-selling vehicles in calendar year 2008.
|
Rank
|
Best-Selling Vehicle
|
2008
|
2007
|
% Change |
|
#1
|
Honda Civic
|
72,463
|
70,838
|
2.3%
|
|
#2
|
Ford F-Series
|
67,749
|
73,618
|
-8.0%
|
|
#3
|
Toyota Corolla
|
57,736
|
40,474
|
42.6%
|
|
#4
|
Mazda 3
|
50,317
|
48,236
|
4.3%
|
|
#5
|
Dodge Ram
|
42,736
|
42,296
|
1.0%
|
|
#6
|
Toyota Yaris
|
40,602
|
34,424
|
17.9%
|
|
#7
|
Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan
|
39,780
|
55,041
|
-27.7%
|
|
#8
|
Chevrolet Silverado
|
34,685
|
40,066
|
-13.4%
|
|
#9
|
GMC Sierra
|
34,555
|
40,606
|
-14.9%
|
|
#10
|
Chevrolet Cobalt
|
33,754
|
32,613
|
3.5%
|
|
#11
|
Ford Escape
|
32,898
|
31,643
|
4.0%
|
|
#12
|
Hyundai Accent
|
29,751
|
16,390
|
81.5%
|
|
#13
|
Pontiac G5
|
26,436
|
25,211
|
4.9%
|
|
#14
|
Toyota Camry
|
24,618
|
28,218
|
-12.8%
|
|
#15
|
Ford Ranger
|
24,211
|
23,386
|
3.5%
|
|
#16
|
Ford Focus
|
23,654
|
24,013
|
-1.5%
|
|
#17
|
Toyota Matrix
|
23,549
|
21,369
|
10.2%
|
|
#18
|
Honda Accord
|
22,623
|
22,102
|
2.4%
|
|
#19
|
Nissan Versa
|
21,845
|
21,940
|
-0.4%
|
|
#20
|
Toyota RAV4
|
20,522
|
16,329
|
25.7%
|
|
#21
|
Honda CR-V
|
20,500
|
20,980
|
-2.3%
|
|
#22
|
Dodge Caliber
|
19,544
|
18,553
|
5.3%
|
|
#23
|
Chevrolet Malibu
|
17,596
|
9,857
|
78.5%
|
|
#24
|
Pontiac Vibe
|
17,335
|
12,915
|
34.2%
|
|
#25
|
Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit
|
16,919
|
14,164
|
19.5%
|
|
#26
|
Nissan Altima
|
16,676
|
17,126
|
-2.6%
|
|
#27
|
Chevrolet Uplander/Venture
|
16,133
|
19,006
|
-15.1%
|
|
#28
|
Pontiac Montana/SV6
|
14,953
|
19,172
|
-22.0%
|
|
#29
|
Chevrolet Impala
|
14,913
|
16,326
|
-8.7%
|
|
#30
|
Honda Fit
|
14,836
|
13,507
|
9.8%
|
|
#31
|
Hyundai Santa Fe
|
14,401
|
15,429
|
-6.7%
|
|
#32
|
Volkswagen Jetta
|
13,915
|
14,665
|
-5.1%
|
|
#33
|
Jeep Patriot
|
13,836
|
9,629
|
43.7%
|
|
#34
|
Pontiac G6
|
13,640
|
11,848
|
15.1%
|
|
#35
|
Ford Fusion
|
13,326
|
15,882
|
-16.1%
|
|
#36
|
Nissan Rogue/X-Trail
|
13,163
|
7,503
|
75.4%
|
|
#37
|
Jeep Wrangler
|
12,137
|
9,834
|
23.4%
|
|
#38
|
Chevrolet Equinox
|
11,946
|
13,205
|
-9.5%
|
|
#39
|
Mazda 5
|
11,944
|
11,690
|
2.2%
|
|
#40
|
Ford Edge
|
11,834
|
10,349
|
14.3%
|
Source: Automakers & ANDC