Supply shortages were the name of the game in Canadian automotive sales in 2022: just when the industry seemed poised for recovery from the pandemic and subsequent supply shortages amid pent-up demand, there were even fewer vehicles available to dealers than in 2021. As a result, 1.49 million units were sold in Canada in 2022, which is 9.1% off the previous year’s total, the lowest figure seen since 2009, and a far cry from the just over 2 million units sold just a few years ago in 2017. On the other hand, dealerships aren’t hurting too badly over these losses as we keep paying more for our vehicles: the average price paid for a new vehicle edged up to approximately $45,000 in December 2022, an average that continues to rise.
Among all of this, 2022 brought a major shake-up on the list of Canada’s best-selling vehicles: the Honda Civic has been dethroned as Canada’s best-selling passenger car after 24 years. In other ways, though, some things never change: we Canadians can never get enough pickup trucks.
Top 10 Best-Selling New Vehicles in Canada in 2022
- Ford F-Series
- RAM Pickup
- Toyota RAV4
- Chevrolet Silverado
- GMC Sierra
- Toyota Corolla
- Honda CR-V
- Honda Civic
- Hyundai Kona
- Hyundai Elantra
1. Ford F-Series: 114,729
For the 14th year in a row, Ford F-Series trucks are far and away the best-selling vehicle in Canada overall—never mind that it’s now been the best-selling truck in Canada for 57 consecutive years. Sales were down roughly 1% in 2022 versus 2021, but that’s still a better performance than the industry average. It also maintains the F-Series record of not dipping below 100,000 units in any year since 2012, which is especially impressive given the environment of the past few years. Whatever Ford builds, it seems, Canadians are guaranteed to snap up.
2. Ram Pickup: 75,740
Ram managed to buck the trend in 2022 and post a 3% increase in sales year over year to hold onto second place. The Ram brand is a big seller in Canada for its parent company Stellantis, which was formerly known as FCA. Although Ram may never be able to build enough trucks to unseat Ford as the country’s sales leader, the fact that the General Motors trucks are counted as separate entries on this list means Ram should be secure in this position for the foreseeable future.
Ram Pickup Review
3. Toyota RAV4: 55,921
Toyota’s RAV4 compact SUV retains third position and the titles of best-selling non-truck and best-selling domestically built vehicle. Assembled in Cambridge, Ontario, the RAV4 is sold in Canada in gas-powered, hybrid, and RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid variants. While this is a strong result for the brand, RAV4 sales were down 10% year over year in Canada due to ongoing supply shortages.
Toyota RAV4 Review
4. Chevrolet Silverado: 53,281
For 2022, the Chevrolet Silverado and its twin, the GMC Sierra, swap positions on this list. The Silverado comes out ahead thanks to a 3% gain year-over-year. However, given that these two trucks combined would outsell everything but the Ford F-Series if the numbers were crunched together, the end result for General Motors is essentially the same. Broken out as they are, jointly they separately finish just behind the country’s best-selling SUV.
5. GMC Sierra: 52,318
In opposition to the Silverado’s 3% gain, the GMC Sierra posted a 3% loss for 2022 versus last year. This is an unusual result for Canada, where the more upscale Sierra tends to outsell its GM stablemate.
GMC Sierra Review
6. Toyota Corolla: 33,906
The big news for 2022 is the Toyota Corolla: by jumping ahead two spots on the list of Canada’s best-selling vehicles, it’s top in passenger car sales and unseats the Honda Civic as the best-selling new car on the Canadian market, a title the Civic had held for 24 years. Interestingly, while the Civic is still assembled in Canada at Honda of Canada Mfg. in Alliston, Ont., Corolla production is no longer domestic as it was moved out of TMMC in Cambridge to make room for the RAV4 in 2019. Despite the compact car earning this title, the Corolla didn’t have a stellar year in Canada overall: sales for the nameplate were down 15 percent year over year.
7. Honda CR-V: 32,096
The Honda CR-V compact SUV ended 2022 as the automaker’s best-selling vehicle in Canada’s car market for the third year in a row. This is amid a fourth-quarter rally as the all-new 2023 Honda CR-V began arriving in dealerships. However, sales lagged enough through the rest of the year under the aging previous model to see the nameplate end 2022 down a painful 37 percent for the year.
8. Honda Civic: 43,556
How the mighty can fall. The Alliston, Ont.-built Honda Civic nearly made it to a quarter century as Canada’s best-selling car, only to fall short amid a 32% year-over-year sales decline by the end of 2022. This is partly due to supply constraints and also potentially partly due to pricing, with Honda asking $26,835 before fees to get in the door on an 11th-generation Civic.
Honda Civic Review
9. Hyundai Kona: 24,579
The Hyundai Kona holds on to the 9th position on Canada’s top-10 vehicle sales charts for 2022 and remains the bestselling vehicle for the Hyundai brand, all while posting a year-over-year loss of 21 percent. The only subcompact crossover to make it into the top 10 did so amid buzz created by its N-Line sport appearance package and Kona N performance models, which captured plenty of media attention midway through 2022.
Hyundai Kona Review
10. Hyundai Elantra: 24,559
Amid similar buzz for the Hyundai Elantra N and a sales dip of 7% year over year, which is better than the industry average, Hyundai scores a second position in the top 10 with its Elantra compact sedan. In doing so, it slots a third passenger car onto the top 10 list, equalling the number of SUVs listed. While the push and pull of supply contributes to this, maybe it’s too soon to put the sedan on life support after all.
Hyundai Elantra Review
Note: Images may show US models.