Canadian Auto Market Trends
CARFAX Canada Reports Used Vehicle Prices Stabilize as Inventory Rises, Despite Tight EV Supply
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Canada's used vehicle market is cooling down — but slowly. The June CARFAX Canada Used Vehicle Market Insights Report found that average listing prices have plateaued through the first half of 2026 and are significantly lower than their 2025 peaks, according to Business Wire. The national average now sits at $31,907, down 2.3% from March 2025.
Inventory is climbing fast. March 2026 saw 235,577 used vehicles listed nationally — a 31.6% jump month-over-month, Morningstar reported. But prices remain well above pre-pandemic levels, and millions of vehicles that were never built during the 2020–2022 supply crisis are still missing from the market.
Damaged Vehicles Flood Listings at a Steep Discount
Nearly one in three used vehicles listed in April 2026 had reported damage. Specifically, 30.9% of listings carried a damage history, according to Business Wire. Those vehicles were priced an average of $7,464 lower than undamaged ones. That gap sounds clear-cut, but CARFAX warns the discount varies widely depending on the type of damage and the vehicle.
The damage surge traces back to a brutal stretch of weather and accidents. Between late 2024 and 2025, severe hailstorms in Alberta and a high accident rate — roughly 1 in 4 vehicles — generated an estimated $9.2 billion in insurance claims, Collision Repair Magazine reported. That wave of damaged inventory is now hitting the used market all at once.
Supply Is Rising but Still Nowhere Near Normal
Inventory is growing fast on paper. But the market is still short on "near-new" vehicles — the three- and four-year-old cars that normally dominate used lots. Fewer vehicles were produced or leased between 2020 and 2022. That means fewer are coming off lease today, Business Wire noted. CARFAX President Shawn Vording called this the core reason the market has not fully recovered.
The types of vehicles available are also shifting. Cars dropped from 30.6% of listings in 2025 to just 27% by June 2026. SUVs now make up 55.3% of all used inventory, The Car Guide reported. Full-size pickup trucks — like the Ford F-150 and GMC Sierra — are resisting price drops entirely and still command a premium, according to Collision Repair Magazine.
Gas Hits 178 Cents a Litre and Canadians Eye Used EVs
Gas prices hit 178.8 cents per litre in April 2026 — the highest since July 2022. That spike triggered a 94% surge in searches for used electric vehicles, BNN Bloomberg reported. About 22% of Canadians now plan to buy a used EV in the next 12 months, driven by fuel costs and growing charging infrastructure, according to Business Wire.
The problem is supply. Battery electric vehicles make up only 4% of all used listings today. What little inventory exists skews heavily toward luxury models, leaving a big gap for affordable options. Used EV prices dropped 6.5% year-over-year in Q1 2026 but bounced back 4.7% in April alone as demand spiked, Morningstar noted. Clutch CEO Dan Park said off-lease EVs from 2022 and 2023 are starting to arrive — but not fast enough to meet demand.
Buyers Face a Market That Looks Better Than It Feels
Prices are flat, but "flat" still means expensive. Vancouver's average used vehicle listing is $44,680. Edmonton's is $25,568, making it one of the most affordable cities, The Car Guide reported. For many Canadians, relief is more statistical than real. MoneySense analysts warn that the average buyer carrying negative equity now owes $8,000 more on their car than it is worth — up from $5,000 in 2024.
Black Book analysts caution that wholesale prices — what dealers pay at auction — are dropping faster than retail listings suggest, especially for trucks and SUVs. That gap between wholesale and retail could widen suddenly. Meanwhile, Focus2move reports that total light vehicle sales fell 2.2% in early 2026, even as EV sales rose 17%. Most Canadians, it seems, are choosing to hold on to what they have.
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