Third quarter sales at Oshawa-based GM up 12 per cent

General Motors Canada sales spiked 12 per cent in the third quarter this year, led by SUVs, electric vehicles and continued strong truck sales, with the numbers for the GMC Sierra in particular – the sister model to the Oshawa-made Chevrolet Silverado – rising 28 per cent.

Sales from GM rival Ford have not yet been released but GM sales are “on track” to lead the Canadian industry in total market share.

GM sold 69,788 vehicles in Q3, up 62,078 from this time last year when Ford topped auto sales with 70,330 vehicles.

The Oshawa-based company has sold 197,349 vehicles so far in 2023.

“With strong customer demand for our products, GM Canada and our dealers delivered solid results while maintaining a disciplined approach to incentives,” GM Canada vehicle sales, service, and marketing Vice-President Kristian Aquilina said. “Canadian customers are particularly excited about our newest vehicles, with the Chevrolet Trax, Chevrolet Trailblazer, and Buick Encore GX all gaining momentum in the third quarter. With the addition of the all-new Buick Envista, which just started arriving in Canada, we expect to see sales of our crossovers grow in the fourth quarter.”

Chevrolet Trailblazer and Trax posted the largest sales gains for the quarter, up 565 per cent and 1,326 per cent, respectively, while Chevrolet sold a total of 4,086 all-electric Bolt EVs and Bolt EUVs, an increase of 31 per cent. Buick Encore GX sales rose 51 per cent.

Monthly sales have been on the rise for nearly a year, though the totals are still well below pre-pandemic levels. Auto sales plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic on supply and production disruptions and have been slow to recover.