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