Canadian Automotive Sales Trends

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If you want to make it in the automotive world, it’s important that you stay alert and attentive to how the industry is changing. Because most auto careers move at the speed of light, ignoring what’s developing can mean you’ll be left in the dust. Whether it’s new trends in diagnostics for the auto technician or new styles of automotive painting, keeping your finger on the pulse of this rapidly changing industry is paramount to your success. So, to give you a bit of a nitro boost against the competition, we’ve collected a list of automotive sales trends in Canada.

The Used Market is Booming

While people are still a bit wary to purchase new cars due to the still struggling to recover economy, the used car market has seen a huge boost in the last few years and the trend is expected to continue. People are becoming more willing to spend money on a used car, because it’s much less of an investment, and the difference in quality between a five year old used car and a brand new one is much more negligible then you’d think. While new car dealerships are still hurting a bit in sales, those with used car lots are experiencing a great upswing in sales.

A New Lease on Life, Not Cars

Also popular in 2014 is the rising trend of ditching the concept of leasing a car. Increasingly, people are realizing that owning is the way to go – and with people still very much wary about credit, banks and the instability of the economy and automotive manufacturers, it’s not hard to see why. Owning is definitely the way to go these days, and unlike the heyday of 2007 where it was estimated that more than 600,000 leases were out on the market, these days we’re sitting at an ever-dwindling 200,000 or so – up from the 100,000 of 2009, but it’s pretty certain we’re never going to see 2007 levels of leasing again, barring some sort of miracle.

High Performance Hybrids

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Hybrids are gaining some serious traction in the automotive world, and right now the industry is hyper focused on high performance. Automakers like Volkswagen are introducing really great, high performance hybrid cars that not only go easy on the gas tank and wallet, but are just as fun and fast to drive as their gas or diesel focused counterparts. Check out the Jetta Hybrid in action here:

Most automakers have been wising up to the fact that environmentally friendly vehicles, especially hybrids, are here to stay, and that if they don’t get on the bandwagon now, they’ll be left looking foolish in a couple of years when they stumble in with a late entry. This is great news for environmentally focused automotive enthusiasts, however, as it means not only a greater selection, but a lower price point!

So there you have it. The industry changes rapidly from day to day, and this is by no means a complete list, but staying up to date on what’s happening in 2014 is exceptionally important to staying above water in automotive careers.