Saskatchewan’s sizzling economy is driving up the number of luxury vehicles in the province.

Saskatchewan Government Insurance says a total of 17,875 luxury vehicles were registered in the province last year, up from about 5,000 a decade ago.

BMW was the most popular luxury brand in Saskatchewan, followed by Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.

“Buyer confidence is at an all-time high and it’s just been steadily growing over the last 10 years,” said Bruce Duguay, sales manager at Porsche Centre Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

Duguay says the dealership exceeded its 2012 sales target by 62 per cent. He notes that many buyers are shifting toward more expensive high-end models.

“One of the things that I had thought originally when we opened Porsche is that we would be selling more of the entry-level models with very few options to keep the price point down,” Duguay said.

“But people are buying what they want.”

Number of luxury vehicles registered in Saskatchewan 2002-2012

                      2002         2012

Jaguar           277             549

BMW            1,511         5,242

Porsche          212            613

Mercedes     1,404         4,041

Lamborghini         0             17

Aston Martin         0             17

Bentley                  1             10

Rolls Royce         17             16

Maybach                 0              0

Ferrari                     4            26

Maserati                  1              4

Lexus                   935       4,591

Land Rover            87          693

Audi                       532      2,056

Total                    4,981   17,875

Source: SGI