August 2012 Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada

Barely missing out on Canada's list of 20 best-selling cars in August 2012 was the Kia Optima. Its midsize Nissan competitor, the Altima, found 21 more buyers last month. And while that's only a slight disappointment for Kia Canada - Optima sales jumped 524% year-over-year, after all - there was extremely good news for the Kia brand higher up the list.

After finishing in 15th spot in April, May, and July, the Kia Rio shot up to ninth spot in August 2012. Sure, the Honda Civic was 3.3 times more likely to be acquired buy a Canadian car shopper. True, the Kia Rio wasn't even the best-selling subcompact. 

All 259 Vehicles Ranked By

August 2012 YTD Canadian Sales

Admittedly, this still doesn't say much about the strength of the subcompact sector in Canada: Ford's F-Series sold three times as often as the Rio and its better-selling Hyundai sibling, the Accent. However, the Rio's presence inside the top 10 is an awfully good sign for the surging Kia brand. It bodes well when Canadians accept your smallest, cheapest cars.

Although The 3-Series Outsold The Mercedes C-Class In August,
The Benz Is Still 428 Sales Ahead Year-To-Date

Again, the Rio wasn't Canada's best-selling car, not by a long shot. That title, as is usually the case, belongs to the Honda Civic. Sales of Honda's compact sedan and coupe rose 88% in August 2012 and are up 28% through the first eight months of 2012. Sales of the second-ranked Hyundai Elantra improved 10% in August, a significantly greater improvement than that which was shown by the overall new vehicle market, which was up precisely 6.4%. But Elantra sales needed to increase at a 48.9% clip in order to outsell the Honda in August. The Civic's year-to-date lead over the Elantra expanded to 8248 units by August 31. In 2011, the Civic ended the year 10,120 sales ahead of the Hyundai.

Is The Venza A Car, SUV, Or Crossover? At GCBC We Call It A Car,
And August Was The First Time Since January That The Venza Was In The Top 20

American brands landed four cars in the top 20 in August; Hyundai and Kia another five cars; Volkswagen and BMW counted three for the Germans; and the Japanese the other eight. GoodCarBadCar.net has already ranked every brand by August 2012 volume. Best seller lists for SUVs, trucks, overall vehicles, and luxury vehicles are coming up shortly.

Rank	Best-Selling Car	August 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Honda Civic	5785	+ 88.3%	42,412	+ 28.3%
#2	Hyundai Elantra	4260	+ 9.6%	34,164	+ 3.7%
#3	Mazda 3	4213	+ 16.8%	28,102	+ 9.5%
#4	Toyota Corolla	3721	+ 19.7%	28,770	+ 16.6%
#5	Chevrolet Cruze	2864	- 14.9%	22,319	- 10.9%
#6	Volkswagen Jetta	2531	+ 16.3%	17,013	- 8.4%
#7	Ford Focus	2275	- 29.5%	19,301	+ 3.6%
#8	Hyundai Accent	2172	+ 0.9%	17,780	+ 12.6%
#9	Kia Rio	1733	+ 319%	9771	+ 106%
#10	Toyota Camry	1461	- 10.5%	13,169	+ 73.3%
#11	Volkswagen Golf	1422	+ 7.1%	9396	- 2.5%
#12	Kia Forte	1303	+ 13.9%	11,003	+ 5.2%
#13	Toyota Matrix	1254	- 2.2%	9530	+ 0.8%
#14	Ford Fusion	1211	- 15.0%	12,115	- 13.7%
#15	Hyundai Sonata	1139	- 19.9%	10,830	- 8.6%
#16	Nissan Sentra	1134	+ 66.3%	7794	- 21.1%
T17	Chrysler 200	1075	+ 107%	10,811	+ 116%
T17	BMW 3-Series	1075	+ 13.3%	6897	- 12.3%
#19	Toyota Venza	985	- 16.2%	7763	- 3.3%
#20	Nissan Altima	963	+ 68.1%	9713	+ 1.9%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales 
If you consider the Subaru XV Crosstrek to be nothing more than an Impreza variant, the Impreza's total climbs to 1027, good enough for 19th spot on the list, good enough to knock the Altima out.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - September 2012
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - July 2012
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In Canada - August 2011
Canada Auto Sales By Brand - August 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada - August 2012
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - August 2012
Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks In Canada - August 2012