MONTREAL, Quebec -

Used-vehicle prices in Canada are on the cusp of a hike, according to the Automobile Protection Agency, which said in its Annual Review of the Auto Industry this week that the cause of these impending increases will be the fact that supplies are limited.

“Ford, GM and Chrysler virtually stopped leasing new vehicles three years ago as of July 2008,” APA shared. “Consequently, the supply of late-model lease return vehicles for their brands will dry up. This will drive up prices across the used car market, as dealers look at import brands to close the gap.”

Moving along, APA also discussed its Lemon-Aid English language new-car ratings, which it shares information regarding the best value options for each vehicle, compares prices between models and provides APA’s reliability ratings. It can be accessed at www.apa.ca.

APA noted some of what it considers the “best best bets for 2011,” as follows:

—Honda Fit
—Honda Civic
—Toyota Matrix
—Toyota Camry
—Infiniti G Series
—Subaru Impreza WRX
—Volkswagen Golf GTI
—Kia Rondo
—Honda Odyssey
—Subaru Forester

Continuing along, the association also stressed that “now is a good time to buy.” Prices are apt to surge in light the supply “uncertainty” in the new and used markets. While supply happens to be rather robust in Canada right now, the current incentives may dry up, APA stressed.

“The natural disasters in Japan have interrupted the production of automobiles and some components for autos, and will complicate the shipping of vehicles, due to damage sustained to ports and other transport infrastructure in northeast Japan,” the association explained.

“(APA director) George Iny says new-vehicle inventories are currently large in Canada, but supply constraints could see some of the generous rebates on Canadian-market vehicles disappear as spring turns into summer,” it added. “APA expects the supply of North-American-built vehicles from the Japanese automakers to continue to be good.”

APA discussed some of the incentives in further detail, noting that they are “very high” due to OEMs waging “price wars” throughout a few vehicle categories.
Officials noted several APA-recommended units that currently have significant incentives attached to them, as detailed by APA:

—Toyota Corolla: Roughly $2,500 in cash as well as finance saving on 60-month loan.
—Kia is offering $3,500 off on the Rondo people carrier with a rebate and low-interest-rate financing.
—Santa Fe SUV, a $3,500 to $5,000 rebate or an equivalent interest rate discount.
—Up to $4,000 savings on the excellent RAV4 compact SUV.