TORONTO -

Canadian new-vehicle sales last month marked the second-best November on record, and it seems dealers may be seeing more customers interested in highline units on their lots.

According to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, one of the fastest growing segments going forward will be the luxury category.

And many luxury nameplates saw their sales numbers increase this past month, contributing to the total light vehicle sales of 125,730 units, marking the second best November on record. The previous best November occurred in 2001, when Canadians bought more than 130,000 units, the firm shared.

November’s sales numbers represent a a SAAR tracking of exactly 1.7 million units – “an exceptional performance by any measure,” officials said.

Actual sales in November rose by 3.8 percent, while year-to-date totals are up 6.5 percent relative to 2011, with 1.57 million vehicles sold with one month remaining.

And this upward sales swing is expected to last through this month, with a chance to breach the 1.7 million unit mark, “potentially making 2012 one of the best-ever years for new vehicle sales in this country,” DeRosiers officials contend.

“We suspect that the market will come in just shy of record levels, but second best on record is very likely. And there should be more to come over the next few years as the market is expected to continue to grow,” they continued.

Breaking the numbers down by brand, starting with strong luxury sales, Porsche was up by 164.2 percent to 251 units, “paving the way for a first-ever annual total in excess of 3,000 units,” the firm said.

Over at Audi, the brand continues its “unabated march up the luxury ladder” with sales up 29.6 percent to 1,630 in November and up 16.2 percent year-to-date.

Volkswagen sales (4,659 sales) were up 16 percent month-over-month for November, and 12.9 percent year-to-date.

Furthermore, Subaru (2,727 sales) was up 35.5 percent in November and 15.1 percent year-to-date.

“Indeed, most luxury brands are having very good years, though there was some softness with selected brands in November. We remain firm in our belief that the market’s fastest growing segments going forward will be luxury segments,” the company stressed. 

And a few OEMs even tackled recent industry upsets to notch sales increases this past month, as well.

First, despite legal controversies surrounding posted fuel efficiency ratings, both Hyundai (10,101 sales) and Kia (5,719 sales) saw solid gains, up 20.0 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively.  

Also, Suzuki Canada, which recently saw its American counterpart shut its doors with a sales dip of only 12.1 percent, “now stands within a single unit of its 2011 year-to-date sales total,” according to DesRosiers.

As for the American Big 3, Ford remained the top retailer of light vehicles in Canada this past month, with sales up 7.4 percent in November coming in at 16,880 units.

“This positive performance brought the Detroit brand’s year-to-date sales into the black (but only by 1.0 percent). Ford enjoyed a huge year in 2011, so (it has) very tough comparables,” company officials said.

Chrysler built on 36 consecutive months of sales growth and remains ahead of GM for sales on a year-to-date basis, though GM did outsell Chrysler in November (17,372 units vs. 16,880 units).