Millions of Canadians search for a new or used vehicle on AutoTrader each month and after crunching a year's worth of that search data, the most-searched-for vehicle is once again a pickup truck. AutoTrader's latest search data shows that the Ford F-150 was the most searched-for vehicle in Canada for 2022. It also showed electric vehicle searches reached new highs in 2022.
Since the Ford F-Series is the best-selling vehicle in the country, it's not much of a surprise to see it on top. But after Ford's pickup, there are some changes from last year's results. The Honda Civic, for example, climbed four spots and a few performance cars moved down the list or dropped off completely.
This is the eighth consecutive year the Ford F-150 has topped AutoTrader's Top Searched Vehicles list, which means the truck has been on top since AutoTrader began publishing this data. Still, with rising fuel prices and high cost of living expenses, Canadians are searching for more frugal vehicles as well.
"2022 has been exceptionally different to previous years – with higher costs of living, vehicle shortages, and economic pressures top of mind," says Ian MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer of AutoTrader. "However, it is encouraging that Canadians' vehicle purchase intentions remained consistent, as they looked for ways to make financially-savvy decisions, including a willingness to be flexible on vehicle selection, and spending more time researching and leveraging tools like the marketplace in their car shopping journey."
Second on the list is the Honda Civic, up four places in search interest from just a year ago. Though it's not yet in the top 10, Toyota's compact Corolla rose from 23rd to 15th place, making it the first time it has broken the top 20 since 2019. The Civic was the most searched vehicle in Ontario. It also topped in Quebec, notably taking that spot away from last year's winner, the Porsche 911. Though most of the rest of the national list closely resembles last year's, the Jeep Wrangler did bump BMW M cars out of their 10th-place spot.
2022 Top Searched Vehicles in Canada
- Ford F-150
- Honda Civic
- BMW 3 Series
- Ford Mustang
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- Porsche 911
- Toyota RAV4
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Jeep Wrangler
Across the country, different provinces showed very different search trends. B.C. was largely led by luxury vehicles in years past, but just four made the top 10 this year. Quebec saw some luxury models falling, and the Maritimes continued to have no luxury models in their 10 most searched.
Trucks are king in Saskatchewan, with Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, and Toyota staying high in the rankings. Four SUVs and a truck were the top five in Alberta, and Manitoba had six SUVs in the top 10. In Ontario, the largest vehicle market, cars were eight of the top 10 most searched models.
Searches for EVs were up a whopping 148 per cent from the year before, with searches climbing along with fuel prices. More buyers were also looking at used vehicles to help contend with higher fuel prices and the shortage of new vehicles linked to the global microchip shortage. AutoTrader search results found that 36 per cent of Canadians planning to purchase were willing to switch from new to used, 10 per cent more than last year.
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