The vehicles at the top of Canadians’ wish lists

Canadians know what vehicles they want and that hasn’t changed despite a pandemic, changing travel habits or supply chain hurdles.

AutoTrader.ca released data around what vehicles customers are searching for on its website. At the top, once again, was the Ford F-150. For the second year in a row, it was followed by the Ford Mustang and the BMW 3 Series, respectively.

In fact, the rest of the top ten looks similar to last year. Indeed, according to AutoTrader.ca, the same vehicles round out the top 10, just in different spots compared to last year.

The company reported 10 million Canadians visiting its site to search for vehicles for sale. It then uses the search data to gauge the interest of car buyers to come up with its top 10 list.

The rest of the top-searched vehicles is similar to the first three — luxury and mainstay brand. The Porsche 911, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Honda Civic, Toyota RAV4, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Chevrolet Corvette and BMW M rounded out the top searched vehicles.

This stability came despite the ongoing pandemic and a shortage of microchips which has shrunk new vehicle options. In turn, used prices have hit all-time highs.

“When it comes to vehicles, Canadians like what they like and we found this consistency to be a reassuring sign for the industry, demonstrating consumers were willing to weather the storm,” says Jodi Lai, editor-in-chief at AutoTrader.ca. “While cars continued to dominate 80 per cent of the top searched list, the truck is still king with the Ford F-150 claiming the top spot nationally for the seventh year in a row, and the Toyota RAV4 remaining a fan favourite in the SUV category.”

AutoTrader.ca also noted that Canadians are still wary of public transit and looking to private travel options. One in five are opting to walk and 36 per cent are choosing to drive themselves.