In an annual survey on what kind of vehicle Canadians would like Santa to bring them this Christmas, the answers were both expected and, in some cases, quite surprising, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
#1 – SUVs
SUVs topped all other vehicle types on Santa’s list for the fourth year in a row, with 23.8% of Canadians favouring them as their primary choices – not a surprise, given that about 40% of actual new-vehicle sales fit within the utility-vehicle envelope. Consumers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan heavily preferred SUVs, with more than one-third (35.5%) choosing them.
#2 – Electric Vehicles
What did surprise was the second-place ranking of electric vehicles on respondents’ wish lists, garnering 18.0% of their responses. That’s a big increase from last year’s 11.3% share – and a huge contrast to the less than 1% of buyers actually purchasing EVs. Could the cult-culture allure of the Tesla rather than the reality of electric vehicle technology be playing a role in those dream choices?
Electric vehicles were the most popular choice in Quebec (25.1%) and British Columbia (21.3%), according to DAC.
#3 – Pickup trucks
Practicality, as well as image, probably played a role in the preference for pickup trucks by 13.3% of those responding – much closer to their real-world market share, which is in the 20% range.
#4 – Exotic/Sports Cars
Like electric vehicles, exotic and sports car are but a blip on the radar of real vehicle sales but they ranked first on 12.6% of Canadians’ wish lists. Why not? Isn’t that why they’re called wish lists?
#5 – Sedans
Sedans were fifth in the ranking, being the first choice for just 9.9% of respondents – not surprising given the continuous decline in conventional car popularity.
#6 – Small Economy Cars
Small economy cars fared even worse, making only 7.7% of the wish lists. Is it the “small” or the “economy” par of the moniker that fails to fuel aspirations?
#7 – Minivans
Does nobody dream of minivans? Very few it seems. Continuing a four-year trend, the minivan was the least popular vehicle, garnering only 5.6% of Santa’s requests.
Beyond just the overall hierarchy of vehicle segmentation in the rankings, there was also a clear correlation between interest and age for many of the vehicle types, according to DesRosiers. Declining interest in exotic and electric cars was apparent among older consumers, who showed a rising interest in pick-up trucks and small economy cars.
In addition, the popularity of an electric vehicle corresponded directly with education level, as EVs were far less popular among high school graduates (14.5%), compared to college- (17.0%) or university-educated consumers (21.7%).
What kind of vehicle did you ask Santa to bring this year?
