Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so the saying goes: the North American auto industry was just beginning to recover from pandemic losses when supply shortages brought it back onto its knees. Much of 2021 saw scenes of vast, empty dealer lots and customers following car transports to buy up product as quickly as it arrived at dealerships. All told, Canadian vehicle sales were 9 percent off the annual average when looking at a decade of pre-COVID data, but they still remained high relative to historical averages.
One thing can be said for Canada: we’re nothing if not consistent. This list of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in Canada sees very few changes relative to 2020. Pick-ups continue to rule the roost—Canadians love their four-wheel drive, after all—while the rest of the list is rounded out by compact SUVs, a pair of perennial favourite passenger cars, and a single standout subcompact crossover to shake things up.
Top 10 Best-Selling New Vehicles in Canada in 2021
- Ford F-Series
- RAM P/U
- Toyota RAV4
- GMC Sierra
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Honda CR-V
- Honda Civic
- Toyota Corolla
- Hyundai Kona
- Nissan Rogue
1. Ford F-Series: 116,401
For the 13th year in a row, Ford’s F-Series trucks are untouchable as the best-selling vehicle in Canada overall—never mind that it’s now been the best-selling truck in Canada for 56 consecutive years. Its 10 percent loss year over year is in line with the industry’s broader supply challenges, but its more than 40,000-unit lead over second place speaks volumes for its popularity among the truck market. And given that the F-Series truck sales haven’t dipped below 100,000 units in any year since 2012 despite the ensuing challenges of the past couple of years, it looks unlikely to be dethroned for the foreseeable future.
Ford F-150 Review
2. Ram P/U: 73,467
Despite posting an enormous 12 percent loss year over year, the Ram brand—a subsidiary of Stellantis, formerly known as FCA—held onto second place on this list in 2021. Again, supply is the biggest challenge here, but these numbers have to be viewed as disappointing in light of the 10 percent year-over-year decrease the brand posted in 2020. Still, pick-up trucks are king in Canada, and it’s unlikely that we’ll see Ram sales trend low enough to bump it from this position any time soon.
RAM 1500 Review
3. Toyota RAV4: 61,934
And here we have Canada’s best-selling SUV and its best-selling domestically built vehicle, the Toyota RAV4. RAV4 sales figures encompass the gas-powered and hybrid versions of the RAV4, which are assembled in Cambridge, Ontario, as well as the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid that’s imported from Japan. This SUV remains so popular that buyers should still expect wait times of several months, especially for the electrified versions. After a rough year in 2020 due to pandemic shutdowns, the RAV4 posted a 7 percent gain year over year in 2021.
Toyota RAV4 Review
4. GMC Sierra: 53,757
Unlike the Silverado, which posted a 2 percent loss in 2021, the GMC Sierra posted a 4 percent increase year over year. This has more to do with the amount of supply that the automaker shipped into the country than it does with demand: like every other brand selling pick-ups in Canada, GMC dealers moved Sierras off their lots as quickly as they came in all through last year.
GMC Sierra Review
5. Chevrolet Silverado: 51,684
The only swap on this list for 2021 is between the Chevrolet Silverado and its twin, the GMC Sierra, which gained the ground lost by the Silverado last year. Given that these two trucks combined would outsell everything but Canada’s top-selling nameplate if the numbers were crunched together, we’re not sure General Motors is overly concerned. Broken out as they are, however, they separately finish just behind the country’s best-selling SUV.
Chevrolet Silverado Review
6. Honda CR-V: 50,935
Continuing the trend of SUVs outselling cars, the compact CR-V ended 2021 as Honda’s best-selling vehicle in Canada for the second year in a row. This is in spite of the CR-V’s age: the current generation debuted for 2017, and the next one is due to launch later this year as a 2023 model. This will make 2022 a year to watch for the CR-V. Will lagging inventory mean dealers can’t bolster sales for the nameplate early in the year by clearing out 2022 models, or will the 2023 version sell strongly enough early on to pick up the slack?
Honda CR-V Review
7. Honda Civic: 43,556
For the 24th consecutive year, the Alliston, Ontario-built Honda Civic remains top in auto sales by being Canada’s best-selling car. After a challenging first half of the year, the launch of the 11th-generation Civic for the 2022 model year created the sales rebound required for the Civic to once again hold on to the country’s top spot for the sedan and/or hatchback body style.
Honda Civic Review
8. Toyota Corolla: 40,020
It’s all the more impressive to see the Toyota Corolla hold onto the 8th spot on this list for another year given how steeply car sales are declining relative to trucks and SUVs. In fact, despite being one of only two cars on this list, the Corolla bucked the low-supply trend by posting a sales increase of roughly 7 percent over 2020 and grew its segment market share to 12 percent.
Toyota Corolla Review
9. Hyundai Kona: 31,101
The Hyundai Kona is a dominant force in the subcompact utility vehicle segment in Canada: you’ll need to look several positions lower into the top 20 list to get to the next-best seller, the Subaru Crosstrek. The Kona remained Hyundai’s top seller in the country through 2021. With a significant redesign launched late last year for 2022, including the new N-Line sport appearance package and Kona N performance models, it will be interesting to see if the Kona makes any inroads on the top 10 list by the end of this year.
Hyundai Kona Review
10. Nissan Rogue: 29,927
Nissan’s best-selling nameplate in Canada maintained the 10th spot on this list in 2021, posting slightly higher sales year over year as it carries on the momentum of the third-generation model launched in 2020. The Rogue added a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder variable compression engine for 2021, which became the most fuel-efficient gas-only powertrain available in Canada in a compact SUV.
Nissan Rogue Review
Note: Images may show US models.