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The long-popular Ford F-150, Mustang and BMW 3 Series remain Canada’s top vehicle choices, according to data released by this week.
And, that’s in keeping with Canadians geared toward seeking luxury and mainstay vehicles, the data shows.
"When it comes to vehicles, Canadians like what they like and we found this consistency to be a reassuring sign for the industry, demonstrating consumers were willing to weather the storm," said Jodi Lai, editor-in-chief at AutoTrader.ca.
"While cars continued to dominate 80 per cent of the top searched list,” Lai said, “the truck is still king with the Ford F-150 claiming the top spot nationally for the seventh year in a row, and the Toyota RAV4 remaining a fan favourite in the SUV category.”
In 2020, AutoTrader.ca found B.C. residents were the most interested in luxury cars than those in other Canadian regions.
In 2021, the economical Toyota RAV4 replaced the luxury BMW X5 in B.C. as the sole SUV on the list.
British Columbia now shares top honours with Ontario as provinces with the most luxury selections in the top 10.
Rounding out the top 10 list nationally were:
- Porsche 911;
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class;
- Honda Civic;
- Toyota RAV4;
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class;
- Chevrolet Corvette, and;
- BMW M
The report said that, in 2021, long-term impacts of the pandemic were seen in the automotive sector; most notably, a global shortage of microchips, which put strain on new car inventory.
With pent-up consumer demand, there was record high new and used vehicle pricing in Canada. Average new and used vehicle prices were reaching record highs of $49,900 and $31,875, respectively, in November 2021, the company found.
Despite these market shifts, Canadians remained loyal to their favourite cars, suggesting that these factors were not deterrents for shoppers.
The company also found that Canadians remain hesitant about public transportation, preferring personal modes of travel.
The data also revealed growing popularity for electric vehicles (EV). It revealed 64% of non-car-owners were open to buying an EV as their next vehicle.
The company said more than 10 million Canadians visit AutoTrader.ca to browse hundreds of thousands of vehicles for sale each month. AutoTrader.ca mines and analyzes that search data each year to capture the pulse of Canadian car buyers' interests and provide insights into their most coveted car selections.