2018 Honda Civic Si SedanHandout / Hyundai Pickups arent selling at the scarcely believable rate of recent years, but 2019s list of best-selling vehicles continues to be dominated by full-size trucks.Through the first half of 2019, pickup trucks are by no means the only category of vehicle failing to match last years pace. After five consecutive years of record auto sales in Canada, 2018 volume dipped, with a total 10 consecutive months of decline.In 2019, the year began the same way, and after six consecutive months of decreased volume, much of the blame lies at the feet or the tires of passenger cars.Rewind to 2009 and passenger cars accounted for slightly more than half of all new vehicle sales in Canada. The sectors market share has collapsed to barely more than a quarter. In fact, compared with the first half of 2018, passenger car market share is down by three percentage points. The traditionally dominant category now produces roughly one in every four new vehicle sales.Canadas most popular passenger car still holds a firm grip on the No.1 position in the category. A safe bet puts the top car, which is Canadas No.3 vehicle overall, on top of the sales charts for a 22nd consecutive year.Streaks are common among the top sellers. Canadas top-selling line of vehicles will almost certainly end 2019 as the No. 1 vehicle for an 11th consecutive year. Canadas top-selling utility vehicle, meanwhile, appears ever more destined to top that category for a fourth consecutive year.The list of Canadas five best-selling vehicles through the first half of 2019 says a lot about the entire market. For one thing, the quintet accounts for so much of the Canadian markets new vehicle demand 22 percent of it. But it also reflects the popularity of Canadian-made products, a distinct appetite for change, and an obvious predilection for that which is most well-known.With figures from the manufacturers, these are Canadas five most popular vehicles.5. Honda CR-V: 27,581, down 2 percentNot since 2009 has Honda Canada reported anything but CR-V sales improvement. But after a sharp June slowdown in which CR-V volume tumbled 19 percent, CR-V sales are actually down, albeit only slightly, through the first half of 2019.With the fifth-generation CR-V in its third model year and its main rival hot off the press, Honda is under pressure to maintain market share with its No. 2 seller. Its evidently not an easy task, particularly with availability a persistent challenge.4. Toyota RAV4: 31,933, up 20 percentGiven the fact the now-departed fourth-generation Toyota RAV4 probably wasnt Toyotas best effort, that it was rather outdated by the date of departure, and that it still sold progressively more often year after year after year, should we be surprised that a new RAV4 fares even better?Thoroughly revamped and wholeheartedly restyled, the Canadian-built Toyota RAV4 is pulling away from the (also Canadian-built) Honda CR-V in the race to end 2019 as Canadas top-selling utility vehicle. Its a title the RAV4 stole from the Ford Escape in 2016.3. Honda Civic: 32,398, down 9 percentOn track for an eight-year Canadian sales low, the Honda Civics control over the car market nevertheless remains as strong as ever. The Canadian-built Civics 32,398 sales in 2019s first half translates to a staggering 12 percent of all car sales in Canada, on par with a year ago, as the Civics rate of decline matches the overall passenger car sectors slide.The Civics first-half output is greater than what all but a couple of cars will manage by years end. It outsells its nearest rival, the Toyota Corolla, by a 32-percent margin.2. Ram P/U: 46,715, down 4 percentIts not an ideal scenario, the decreased volume produced by Fiat Chryslers top-selling product. Thats particularly true when you consider the newness of the fifth-generation Ram. Moreover, 2019s first-half decline follows a 2018 in which Ram truck sales tumbled 14 percent.Fortunately for FCA, the current pace still puts the Ram on track for an easy No. 2 finish and, quite likely, the lineups sixth-best year on record. It could be much worse. A decade ago, only 31,000 Rams were sold in Canada.1. Ford F-Series: 74,905, up 4 percentThough still some ways off Ford Canadas record 2017 pace, the Ford F-Series ever-present ability for drumming up vast quantities of sales across the country, across a vast price spectrum, and across demographics is a sight to behold.A full eight percent of all vehicles sold in Canada are F-Series pickups. Nearly half of the vehicles sold at Canadas top-selling brand are F-Series pickups, too. Full-size pickup truck demand has slowed somewhat, which serves to shine an even brighter light on 2019s rising F-Series
Origin: Canada’s 5 best-selling vehicles in the first half of 2019