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Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada - Market Research Report (2015-2030)

Evan Jozkowski Evan Jozkowski New York, United States Last Updated: October 2025 NAICS 33611CA

Revenue

$65.7bn

2025

$65.7bn

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

$XX.Xbn

Employees

26,259

Businesses

123

Wages

$X.Xbn

Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada industry analysis

Canadian automakers have faced severe volatility through the current period, especially given prominent offshoring trends over the past two decades. Higher labor costs, smaller markets and lower economies of scale have encouraged automakers in Canada to prioritize the United States and Mexico, leading to greater import exposure. Most notably, passenger vehicle production volumes have plummeted in Canada, with a majority of automakers instead prioritizing SUVs and light trucks. Regardless, total production has plummeted over the past two decades, highlighting the industry's inherent weakness. Even so, revenue has climbed at an estimated CAGR of 4.4% to $65.7 billion, including a 2.0% jump in 2025, where profit rebounded to 5.5% of revenue. Specifically, shifting consumer preferences toward higher-end vehicles, especially EVs, have created opportunities for greater per-unit revenue. Canada has displayed strong EV uptake through the current period; however, the removal of the iZEV rebate has caused sales to plummet and may cause some hesitancy from leading automakers to further invest in Canadian EV production. 

Trends and Insights

  • Manufacturers that successfully innovate will dominate the automotive landscape. Tightening emissions regulations and ambitious EV goals will create opportunities for eco-friendly models and brands to dominate core markets in Canada.
  • Automakers respond to changing consumer preferences, tweaking product lines each year. SUVs, crossovers and electric vehicles have become especially popular in many markets. Pickup trucks also remain strong sellers in Canada, especially in more rural provinces.
  • Ontario and Montreal produce the vast majority of automobiles. Most key manufacturers, including Honda, Ford and Stellantis, have facilities in Ontario.
  • Leading international automakers dominate the industry. High per-unit and start-up costs, combined with established producers' scope and power, make it virtually impossible to join the industry. Only disruptors in EV and autonomous driving markets stand a chance to succeed.
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Industry Statistics and Trends

Market size and recent performance (2015-2030)

Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 4.4 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $65.7bn in 2025.

Trends and Insights

Canadian automakers have dealt with major supply chain disruptions

  • Automobile manufacturers have endured severe supply chain disruptions following the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other regional conflicts. For instance, piracy and conflict in the Middle East have hindered Red Sea shipping lanes, which account for more than 30.0% of global container trade and 10.0% of all global trade, according to the United Nations.
  • Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada
Revenue (2015-2030)
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry outlook (2025-2030)

Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

Tariff policies and retaliations will likely temper growth opportunities

  • Uncertain tariff policies and threats of a looming trade war may severely curtail demand for Canadian automakers and the broader manufacturing sector over the next few years. Restrictive tariffs from the US may compromise an already weak Canadian manufacturing sector that lacks proprietary brands and an over-reliance on US export markets.

Biggest companies in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada

Company
Market Share (%)
2025
Revenue
2025
Profit
2025
Profit Margin (%)
2025

There are no companies that hold a market share exceeding 5% in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada industry.

Products & Services Segmentation

Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada
Products & Services
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Crossovers (CUVs), Cars and Pickup Trucks. Crossovers (CUVs) is the largest segment of the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada.

Trends and Insights

Crossovers have taken a dominant position in the Canadian and broader North American economy

  • While SUVs often use a purpose-built chassis for rugged terrain, CUVs share a chassis with smaller, lighter passenger vehicles. CUVs typically have lower starting prices and greater fuel efficiency, resulting in surging popularity. These vehicles offer more space for occupants and luggage alongside raised ground clearance compared with passenger vehicles.
  • More insights available in the full report

Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing complete automobiles and light duty motor vehicles (i.e., body and chassis or unibody) or chassis only. In other words, this industry covers all motor vehicle manufacturing except the manufacturing of medium- to heavy-duty trucks.

What's included in this industry?

Products and services covered in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada include Cars, Crossovers, SUVs, Pickup Trucks and Vans.

Companies

Companies covered in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada include .

Purchase this report to view all major companies in this industry.

Related Terms

Related terms covered in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada include sport-utility vehicle (suv), crossover-utility vehicle (cuv), fuel economy/efficiency, hybrid vehicles, big three automakers and domestic internationals.

Performance

Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.

Analyst insights

Manufacturers that successfully innovate will dominate the automotive landscape. Tightening emissions regulations and ambitious EV goals will create opportunities for eco-fri...

In this chapter (4)

  • Current Performance
  • Outlook
  • Volatility
  • Life Cycle

Key metrics

  • Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
  • Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
  • Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
  • Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business

Charts

  • Revenue, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Employees, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Businesses, including historical (2015-2024) and forecast (2025-2030)
  • Profit, including historical (2015-2025)
  • Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
  • Industry Life Cycle

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
  • Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
  • Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
  • How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.

Products and Markets

Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.

Analyst insight

Automakers respond to changing consumer preferences, tweaking product lines each year. SUVs, crossovers and electric vehicles have become especially popular in many markets. ...

In this chapter

  • Products & Services
  • Major Markets
  • International Trade

Key metrics

  • Largest market segment and value in 2025
  • Product innovation level
  • Total imports, level and trend
  • Total exports, level and trend
  • Trade Balance

Charts

  • Products & services segmentation in 2025
  • Major market segmentation in 2025
  • International trade, including imports by country and exports by country

Detailed analysis

  • Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
  • Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
  • Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
  • Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services
  • Recent trends in import and export volumes, country of origin or destination, and expected future trends

Geographic Breakdown

Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.

Analyst insights

Ontario and Montreal produce the vast majority of automobiles. Most key manufacturers, including Honda, Ford and Stellantis, have facilities in Ontario.

In this chapter (1)

  • Business Locations

Charts

  • Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each province
  • Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2025

Tables

  • Number and share of establishments in each province in 2025
  • Number and share of revenue each province accounts for in 2025
  • Number and share of wages each province accounts for in 2025
  • Number and share of employees in each province in 2025

Detailed analysis

  • Geographic spread of the industry across North America, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
  • Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage

Competitive Forces

Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.

Analyst insights

Leading international automakers dominate the industry. High per-unit and start-up costs, combined with established producers' scope and power, make it virtually impossible t...

In this chapter (4)

  • Concentration
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Substitutes
  • Buyer & Supplier Analysis

Key metrics

  • Industry concentration level
  • Industry competition level and trend
  • Barriers to entry level and trend
  • Substitutes level and trend
  • Buyer power level and trend
  • Supplier power level and trend

Charts

  • Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2020-2025
  • Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart

Detailed analysis

  • Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
  • Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
  • Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
  • Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
  • Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
  • Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
  • Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
  • Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
  • Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.

Companies

There are no companies that hold a market share exceeding 5% in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing in Canada industry.

Analyst insights

Foreign manufacturers dominate Canadian markets. Companies like Honda, Stellantis, and Ford have controlling positions in these markets, while Canadian-founded producers don'...

External Environment

Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.   

Analyst insights

Canadian manufacturers must adhere to a wide range of vehicle safety and emissions standards. The Canadian government harmonizes most regulations with US federal policies.

In this chapter

  • External Drivers
  • Regulation & Policy
  • Assistance

Key metrics

  • Regulation & policy level and trend
  • Assistance level and trend

Charts

  • Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2015-2030) 
  • Assistance historical data and forecast (2015-2030) 

Detailed analysis

  • Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
  • Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
  • Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.

Financial Benchmarks

View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time. 

Analyst insights

Purchases dominate an automaker's expenses. Companies have battled supply chain shortages and volatile input prices following the pandemic, leading to long lead times and maj...

In this chapter

  • Cost Structure
  • Financial Ratios
  • Key Ratios

Key metrics

  • Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
  • Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
  • Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
  • Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio

Charts

  • Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
  • Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2025
  • Investment vs. share of economy

Data tables

  • Liquidity Ratios (2018-2023)
  • Coverage Ratios (2018-2023)
  • Leverage Ratios  (2018-2023)
  • Operating Ratios (2018-2023)
  • Assets (2018-2023)
  • Liabilities (2018-2023)
  • Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Employee (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Establishment (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • Average Wage (2015-2030)
  • Wages/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Establishments per Enterprise (2015-2030)
  • IVA/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Imports/Demand (2015-2030)
  • Exports/Revenue (2015-2030)

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability 

Key Statistics

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

  • Revenue (2015-2030)
  • IVA (2015-2030)
  • Establishments (2015-2030)
  • Enterprises (2015-2030)
  • Employment (2015-2030)
  • Exports (2015-2030)
  • Imports (2015-2030)
  • Wages (2015-2030)

Top Questions Answered

Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.

What is the market size of the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada in 2025?

The market size of the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada is $65.7bn in 2025.

How many businesses are there in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada in 2025?

There are 123 businesses in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada, which has grown at a CAGR of 5.3 % between 2020 and 2025.

How may import tariffs affect the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada?

The Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada is likely to be significantly impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.

How may export tariffs affect the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada?

The Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada is likely to be significantly impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.

Has the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada has been growing at a CAGR of 4.4 % between 2020 and 2025.

What is the forecast growth of the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada is expected to grow.

What does the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada include?

Cars and Crossovers are part of the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada.

How competitive is the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada?

The level of competition is very high and increasing in the Automobile & Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry in Canada.

Methodology

How are IBISWorld reports created?

IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.

Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.

IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.

What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?

Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.

Key data sources in Canada include:

  • Statistics Canada
  • Industry Canada
  • Canadian Business Patterns

Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.

These sources include:

  • Industry and trade associations
  • Industry federations or regulators
  • Major industry players annual or quarterly filings

Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.

How does IBISWorld forecast its data?

IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.

IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.

Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.

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