A lot has changed when it comes to new-vehicle market share in Canada. The economic downturn, manufacturer bankruptcies, product challenges and newcomers to the scene have shaken some of the grip that big names have held on the market.

In a recent issue of the Observations report from his company, Dennis DesRosiers, president and founder of DesRosiers Automotive Consulting, touched on some of these changes during the past few years and offered some insight to Auto Remarketing Canada on how the market share may shake out in the coming years.

DesRosiers broke it down into four groups: the Detroit Brands (or Big 3), the Japanese brands, the European brands and the Korean brands.

The Big 3 and the Japanese brands have given up a considerable amount of their market share in the past few years, plagued by recalls, natural disasters and bankruptcy.

First up, according to DesRosiers, the Japanese brands held 39.3 percent of Canadian market share in the third quarter of 2008; this number bottomed out at 28.7 percent in the second quarter of 2011.

During the same time frame, General Motors lost 6.9 percent of its market share, DesRosiers reported.

Where did the chips fall when these giants lost so much of their market share?

DesRosiers reported that “Ford was the big winner in Canada,” picking up 5.8 points of share.

GM’s dealer reductions gave Ford and Chrysler dealers a huge opportunity to steal customers.

Brand loyalty has not been much of a consideration there, as many consumers have switched over to another brand as GM’s troubles made it difficult to find a dealer.

When asked whether any of these customers may consider coming back to GM, DesRosiers said there has been no mention of this trend as of yet. 

As GM and Japanese brands struggled to overcome market share the past few years, the Korean brands, such as Hyundai and Kia, have continued to grow their customer bases.  

The Korean brands, as a group, picked up 5.3 points of share.

Commenting on their recent success, DesRosiers said, “Koreans have offered vehicles that are great value for money and expanded their product offerings especially with Kia becoming so significant.”

Lastly, Chrysler picked up 3.4 points of share, and the European brands gained 2.9 percent.

From the low of 28.7 percent, the Japanese automakers have “recouped about half their lost share picking up 5.2 points between when their share bottomed out and the current quarter,” DesRosiers said, referring to the fourth quarter of 2013.

DesRosiers told Auto Remarketing Canada that this is due to the Japanese putting product availability issues related to natural disasters behind them.

He said the Japanese manufacturers must focus on creating superior products to continue gaining back market share lost during the past few years.

“The 5.2 points of share picked up by the Japanese appears to have come primarily from the Detroit-based OEMs, although a little must have come from the Koreans who have been soft this year,” DesRosiers said.

On the other hand, GM continues to lose market share. The company saw market share decrease 3 percent from 2008.

“I think the No. 1 issue for them is how they handled the downsizing of their dealer body,” DesRosiers said.

According to DesRosiers, GM’s biggest issue in Canada was the loss of the Pontiac brand, which held 7.1 percent of the Canadian market in 2005, and by 2010, was almost at zero.

“The loss of Pontiac cost General Motors dearly in Canada, and they have not been able to pick up any of this lost share with Chevrolet, which also has declined, moving from 13.4 percent of the market to under 8 percent of the market,” DesRosiers said.

Out of all automakers, only one managed to hold its market share steady from 2012, that being Chrysler.

DesRosiers said Chrysler is holding strong because of its product.  

The company has rolled out numerous all-new models and redesigns during the past few years after its change in ownership. 

At the time of DesRosiers’ analysis in late 2013, the brand still held 14.5 percent of the market, unchanged from 2012.

Editor’s Note: For more market intelligence on the Canadian remarketing environment, see the latest issue of Auto Remarketing Canada Digital Magazine.