Estimates for Canada's light vehicle production numbers show that this country's auto industry produced seven per cent fewer cars and trucks in 2017 than the year before.
According to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, Canadian car manufacturing plants cranked out about 2.2 million vehicles in 2017, down from about 2.4 million in 2016.
That drop in manufacturing stands in contrast to Canada's expanding appetite for new vehicles, which pushed new vehicle sales here over the two million mark for the first time in 2017. Sales have climbed steadily since the recession of 2009, though industry experts suggest it's unlikely this year's sales will exceed that 2017 milestone.
DesRosiers blames the manufacturing slowdown on a shift in production capacity to the United States and Mexico, as well as soft economic conditions in the US, where the majority of Canadian-built vehicles are sold.
Another factor affecting the year-end results was a strike at GM's Ingersoll, Ontario plant, which builds the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox crossover.
DesRosiers said that in 2018, Canadian production will be "heavily influenced" by US market sales trends as well as future shifts in assembly share that could result from a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Later this month, the Canadian, American and Mexican governments will meet in Montreal for the next round of NAFTA talks.
Canada's most popular home-built vehicles include the 2018 Honda Civic, 2018 Toyota RAV4 and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica minivans.
