"It's a $4.8 billion industry within the province, so when we're strong, it means the province is strong."
Larry Heggs, the executive director of the Saskatchewan Automobile Dealers' Association, is optimistic about the new vehicle market. Here in Saskatchewan, the purchase of new vehicles has been up by around 300 units, year-to-date. This number includes cars as well as trucks.
Data released by Statistics Canada earlier this month showed the number of new vehicles sold through the month of May was 20,079. The majority of those have been trucks, which isn't something that surprises Heggs.
"We're always, in Saskatchewan, a higher truck market than we are a car market," he explained.
With the increase in new vehicle sales has come something not seen in many other sectors - a decline in prices. The decline, along with one other factor, could be seen as helping to spur the market.
"I think that people just see the value in it and the opportunity," Heggs added. "We've all got to get to work. At the end of the day, you need a car."
For new vehicle sales, the busiest month for cars this year was in March when there were 409 purchases across the province. May was the month with the largest amount spent on new vehicles, at $16.4 million. This number, however, pales in comparison to what has been spent on trucks.
The biggest month for volume and dollars was in April. There were 4,389 new trucks purchased that month, at a value of $279.3 million. This works out to an average of just over $63,000 per truck.
Heggs stressed the economic impact of vehicles extends beyond the dealerships.
"Just consider those jobs, whether it be in agriculture, whether it be in the oil industry, whether it be in mining, forestry, whatever the big industries that we speak of in this province," Heggs pointed out. "There isn't a single person that works in any of those industries that can do their job without some type of transportation, so the impact is really almost at the top of the funnel."