Larger passenger vehicles are the hottest sellers in Canada right now.
Industry experts say it's due, in part, to falling fuel prices.
They say Canadian auto sales are on track to post a second consecutive year of record sales.
Dealerships are finding buyers are favouring larger vehicles.
“The last couple of months a lot of it is fuel prices have come down substantially, which helps crossover sales, sport utility sales and also pickup truck sales,” says Ray Cullen’s new car sales manager, Steve McCaw.
He says pickup trucks and SUVs are among their biggest sellers and with gas prices at their lowest point in years, the last couple of months have been especially hot.
It's a trend across Canada. Last month, more than two million vehicles were sold in Canada, with pickups and SUVs now accounting for more than 58 per cent of vehicle sales.
“Regardless of fuel prices and other influences, you should buy a vehicle that suits your needs, your family's needs,” says auto analyst Clare Deer.
He says you shouldn’t allow gas prices to be the only determining factor when buying a new car.
“Gas prices always have an impact on auto sales and it's funny how it fluctuates because gprices go up and everybody swings to an eco car. Prices drop, and they look for…less fuel-efficient vehicles. What they forget is six months from now, you're stuck with the vehicle that you bought.”
Lower gas prices are helping to fuel this trend, but they're certainly not the only factor being attributed to higher volume of auto sales right across the board.
McCaw says consumers were keeping cars longer, during the economic downturn, but that's all changing.
“They're getting to the point of very, very heavy repairs. So replacement is something that's becoming a little bit more common.”
