Rising car prices, cheaper gas
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Car buyers paid an average of $25,664 for passenger vehicles in 2009 and an average of $700 (2.8%) more for a car than they did in 2008.
Canadians bought almost 150,000 fewer passenger vehicles from all countries of manufacture in 2009, a 16.4% decrease in the units sold from 2008. Sales of passenger vehicles totalled $19.2 billion in 2009, down 14.1% from $22.3 billion in sales in 2008.
The average price for a new vehicle dropped 1.5% in 2008, the largest annual drop since 1999. Reasons for the drop included retailer and manufacturer incentives. As well, the sustained strength of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar prompted Canadian auto dealers to reduce the gap between Canadian and U.S. auto prices.
While car prices went up, fuel costs declined. Although gas prices fluctuated, the cost of a litre of regular gasoline at self-service stations averaged 93.9 cents in 2009, a 17.8% drop from an average of 114.2 cents in 2008.
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