Auto sales figures for April here in Canada confirmed a trend that's been years in the making: consumers are losing interest in small cars, and so are some of the companies making them.
Ford (NYSE: F) made headlines last week when the iconic automaker said it would stop making and selling virtually all types of cars in North America by 2022, and instead focus on light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles. Eventually, the muscle car Mustang will be the only Ford car that Canadian consumers will be able to buy new.
The move isn't an example of the company trying to push customers in a new direction, but rather, the other way around; it was a response to decisions consumers are already making.
In 1990, car companies sold more than two cars for every truck, van or SUV they moved off the lot. Over the next 20 years that gap narrowed, though sedans and coupes were still the preferred vehicle type even up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Then in 2010, Canadians bought more than 850,000 larger vehicles, compared to just over 700,000 cars, according to data on new car sales from automotive consultant Dennis DesRosiers. That year marked the first time the car's primacy had been challenged. And each year since, the gap has widened. Last year, Canadians bought two trucks for every car sold in the country.
Nor is Ford alone: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE: FCAU) announced in 2016 that it would kill off car models like the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, switching production lines to make SUVs and trucks instead.
Monthly sales numbers since then show the gamble paid off. FCA Canada announced Wednesday that sales for the Pacifica minivan increased by 16% last month. The Dodge Caravan was up by a little more, while the even larger Durango saw sales spike by more than 50%
Overall, however, Chrysler's total sales in Canada fell by 16%, as sales of just about every small vehicle they make were lower.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) still sells a suite of smaller vehicles in Canada, but it, too, is pivoting toward biggest trucks and SUVs. Sales of the Chevrolet Traverse SUV have doubled in the past year, GM said Tuesday, and those of the Colorado truck are up by almost a third.
