Are supply chain issues still affecting the automotive industry? Canadian sales in 2023 suggest supply is beginning to recover, though it still has a way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels. There were 1.7 million vehicles sold in Canada in 2023. That’s the best year since 2019 and a 12 percent increase over 2022 (itself the largest single-year improvement since 1997). But we’re still some distance from the 2 million-plus sales we saw back in 2017. Of note, we’re also paying more for new vehicles than we ever have before. In 2023, the average price for a new vehicle in Canada crested $50,000 for much of the year.
Did the Toyota Corolla manage to hold off the Honda Civic to remain Canada’s best-selling car? Are pickup trucks still king of the road? Read on to find out which vehicles were the top 10 best-selling cars in Canada in 2023.
Top 10 Best-Selling New Vehicles in Canada in 2023
- Ford F-Series
- RAM Pickup
- Toyota RAV4
- GMC Sierra
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Honda CR-V
- Toyota Corolla
- Honda Civic
- Nissan Rogue
- Hyundai Tucson
1. Ford F-Series: 123,267
Ford continued to have a lock on top spot in the list of Canada’s best-selling vehicles in 2023. The Ford F-Series line-up—which includes the Ford F-150 half-ton pickup as well as Ford Super Duty trucks—sold nearly 50,000 units more than the next-closest competitor. The 2023 sales of 123,267 units represents an increase of 7% over 2022.
Ford F-150 Reivew
2. Ram Pickup: 75,257
Like the Ford F-Series, the full Ram pickup line goes into generating its 2023 sales figure of 75,257 units. This is good enough to keep the nameplate in second place, but it represents a 1% drop in sales versus the previous year.
Ram Pickup Review
3. Toyota RAV4: 74,688
The Canadian-built Toyota RAV4 holds onto third spot and keeps its title as the best-selling vehicle in the country that’s not a pickup. If Toyota could have built more, they would have sold: this figure is a 34-percent increase over the year prior, and wait times for these popular SUVs still range from months to years depending on the model.
Toyota RAV4 Review
4. GMC Sierra: 59,696
With a 14-percent sales increase year over year, the GMC Sierra swaps spots with the related Chevrolet Silverado and slides into fourth place on the Canadian sales charts. Like the Ford and Ram statistics, sales of the full Sierra line count here, including heavy-duty trucks. It’s also important to note that if the Sierra and Silverado were tallied together, their combined sales would put them firmly into second place and within 15,000 units of challenging Ford for the overall title.
GMC Sierra Review
5. Chevrolet Silverado: 53,266
Sales on the Chevrolet Silverado full-size and heavy-duty truck line remained steady in 2023, which this time around is good enough to keep the nameplate in the top five. As noted above, if the GMC Sierra’s sales figures were combined with the Silverado’s, these related trucks would share second place on this list.
Chevrolet Silverado Review
6. Honda CR-V: 52,146
The Honda CR-V, which is assembled in Alliston, Ontario, saw a massive 62-percent increase in sales relative to the year before. This moves it past the Toyota Corolla and up into sixth place on our list of Canada’s 10 best-selling vehicles in 2023. This change likely has more to do with an improvement in supply than anything else: the CR-V entered a new generation for the 2023 model year, and the changeover hampered availability of inventory late in 2022.
Honda CR-V Overview
7. Toyota Corolla: 28,260
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.
8. Honda Civic: 27,803
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.
9. Nissan Rogue: 26,665
The Nissan Rogue slides back into the top 10 after posting 26,665 sales in 2023, an increase of 32% over the previous year. The Rogue’s three-cylinder engine is the most fuel-efficient in its class, which seems to be resonating with Canadians.
Nissan Rogue Review
10. Hyundai Tucson: 26,109
It’s a return to dominance for the compact SUV in Canada as the Hyundai Tucson rounds out the top 10 best-selling vehicles for 2023. Its sales of 26,109 units represent an increase of 19% over 2022. By doing so, the Tucson edges out the subcompact Hyundai Kona, which is in the midst of a generational redesign for the 2024 model year.
Note: Images may show US models.