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Two months remain on the calendar, but it’s in the bag: Civic is tops in Canada again |
There are two months remaining on the calendar, but Honda Canada has already generated enough sales activity with its compact car to establish the Civic as Canada’s best-selling car for an 18th consecutive year.
Not since 1997, when Joe Carter was still at bat for the Blue Jays, has something other than the Honda Civic been Canada’s best-selling car.
Civic volume peaked when the eighth-generation car, with its edgier styling and two-tier dash, became thoroughly established in 2008, two years into its run. 72,463 Civics were sold that year in Canada, a figure Honda hasn’t matched since.
In fact, the Civic was not only Canada’s best-selling car in 2008, it was the country’s best-selling vehicle overall, regardless of classification, edging out Ford’s F-Series pickups which have taken the crown in every year since.
But while the Civic never matched its 2008 peak in its ninth-generation form, challengers have still consistently fallen far short of measuring up to the all-conquering Honda in Canada. The Civic outsold its nearest rival by 10,000 sales in 2011, by 14,000 sales in 2012, by 9,300 sales in 2013, and by nearly 16,000 sales in 2014.
The Civic strengthened its position through the middle portion of the year, however. Now, through the first 10 months of 2015, the Corolla trails the Civic by 13,673 sales, effectively an insurmountable deficit for the Toyota to overcome in a declining passenger car market. Indeed, it is likely that Honda will have sold more Civics through October than any of its rivals will sell in the full 2015 calendar year.
Still, it hasn’t been an outstanding year for the Civic. The Canadian auto industry has seen car volume fall by more than five percent even as the overall market climbs toward another record sales year. While the Civic isn’t declining as sharply as the car sector as a whole, it is still down three percent. All of the Civic’s six best-selling alternatives have seen their sales decline on a year-over-year basis, as well, from the fourth-ranked Mazda 3’s 16 percent slide to the Corolla’s two percent slide.
A more expansive body with greater interior space, new engines, the eventual debut of a hatchback bodystyle, and a high-performance Type R option should, at the very least, place the Civic at the forefront of the Canadian auto industry’s consciousness.
In the transition period, Honda Canada’s volume will also benefit from the clear-out of ninth-generation cars. For car buyers who don’t crave the newest and freshest and latest thing, and especially for car buyers who won’t want to buy a new car in the first year of its relaunch, now is the time to get into a new Civic.
Can the Honda Civic return to those eighth-generation, pre-recession highs during a period in which Canadian car buyers are quickly becoming Canadian crossover buyers? Who knows? But if any car can return to former glory in Canada, it’s likely the Civic, a nameplate which doesn’t need the overall market to grow if it can simply steal more sales from its rivals.
We’ve certainly seen the Civic steal market share in the past.
Source;
http://www.autofocus.ca/news-events/news/make-it-18-honda-civic-will-be-2015-s-best-selling-car-in-canada
Not since 1997, when Joe Carter was still at bat for the Blue Jays, has something other than the Honda Civic been Canada’s best-selling car.
Tradition
Of course, the car Honda is selling today isn’t the same as the car Honda was selling when the streak began in 1998. Back then, the sixth-generation Civic was available in three bodystyles: sedan, hatchback, and coupe. Honda made a name for the Civic by building a reliable car with excellent resale value and appealing on-road dynamics. Canadians were buying an entry-level car, but Canadians didn’t feel punished for driving or owning an entry-level car.Civic volume peaked when the eighth-generation car, with its edgier styling and two-tier dash, became thoroughly established in 2008, two years into its run. 72,463 Civics were sold that year in Canada, a figure Honda hasn’t matched since.
In fact, the Civic was not only Canada’s best-selling car in 2008, it was the country’s best-selling vehicle overall, regardless of classification, edging out Ford’s F-Series pickups which have taken the crown in every year since.
But while the Civic never matched its 2008 peak in its ninth-generation form, challengers have still consistently fallen far short of measuring up to the all-conquering Honda in Canada. The Civic outsold its nearest rival by 10,000 sales in 2011, by 14,000 sales in 2012, by 9,300 sales in 2013, and by nearly 16,000 sales in 2014.
The Overall Market
Yet there has been a new challenger in 2015 and in the first-quarter of this year, the Civic was Canada’s top-selling car in just one month: March. After four years of fending off the second-ranked Hyundai Elantra, 2015’s number-two car is the Toyota Corolla, the Civic’s traditional rival and a global top seller.The Civic strengthened its position through the middle portion of the year, however. Now, through the first 10 months of 2015, the Corolla trails the Civic by 13,673 sales, effectively an insurmountable deficit for the Toyota to overcome in a declining passenger car market. Indeed, it is likely that Honda will have sold more Civics through October than any of its rivals will sell in the full 2015 calendar year.
Still, it hasn’t been an outstanding year for the Civic. The Canadian auto industry has seen car volume fall by more than five percent even as the overall market climbs toward another record sales year. While the Civic isn’t declining as sharply as the car sector as a whole, it is still down three percent. All of the Civic’s six best-selling alternatives have seen their sales decline on a year-over-year basis, as well, from the fourth-ranked Mazda 3’s 16 percent slide to the Corolla’s two percent slide.
The Next Generation
Regardless of what the car market is doing, Honda is pinning high hopes on its release of an all-new, tenth-generation, model year 2016 Civic this winter.A more expansive body with greater interior space, new engines, the eventual debut of a hatchback bodystyle, and a high-performance Type R option should, at the very least, place the Civic at the forefront of the Canadian auto industry’s consciousness.
In the transition period, Honda Canada’s volume will also benefit from the clear-out of ninth-generation cars. For car buyers who don’t crave the newest and freshest and latest thing, and especially for car buyers who won’t want to buy a new car in the first year of its relaunch, now is the time to get into a new Civic.
Made in Canada
Historically speaking, Canadians aren’t only fond of the Civic for its reputation for reliability, resale, and above-average dynamics. Honda is a Japanese automaker, but the Civic is built right here in Canada. Alliston, Ontario, is home to production of the Civic and the CR-V, Canada’s third-best-selling utility vehicle.Can the Honda Civic return to those eighth-generation, pre-recession highs during a period in which Canadian car buyers are quickly becoming Canadian crossover buyers? Who knows? But if any car can return to former glory in Canada, it’s likely the Civic, a nameplate which doesn’t need the overall market to grow if it can simply steal more sales from its rivals.
We’ve certainly seen the Civic steal market share in the past.
Source;
http://www.autofocus.ca/news-events/news/make-it-18-honda-civic-will-be-2015-s-best-selling-car-in-canada
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