TL;DR
- DesRosiers: Ontario new light-vehicle sales rose 7.1% in August, about 4,500 extra units. National volume was about 168,000, up 5.4%. Year to date Canada is still 1.2% behind 2025. Honda Canada still has no August retail release.
- Lexus Canada: the 2027 ES is exclusively electrified. ES 350h Signature MSRP is $59,685 — $2,965 under the ES 350e Signature EV at $62,650. Honda Canada still lists Accord as SE gas / Sport-L Hybrid / Touring Hybrid.
- Same through-line: Ontario is shopping again, and the hybrid is still the door the sticker is written to sell.
Ontario New-Car Sales Jumped 7.1% in August
The national +5.4% print was already out. The new information is that Ontario, the market Maple Honda sits in, added about 4,500 extra units.
Read the story → Story 2 · ProductLexus Priced 2027 ES Hybrid Under the EV
Lexus made the 2027 ES exclusively electrified, then still put the hybrid $2,965 under the equivalent EV. Honda has not built that pair.
Read the story →The Through-Line
August put more Ontario shoppers in stores. That is not a recovered year — Canada is still behind 2025 year to date, and Honda Canada still has not published its own August units — but it is a busier GTA floor than a year earlier. On that floor, the sedan conversation is still hybrid-first. If you are comparing hybrid vs gas fuel costs on Ontario highways, see the real CR-V Hybrid annual gas arithmetic. Lexus just proved it in public: an exclusively electrified ES, with the hybrid sticker written underneath the EV. Honda Canada is in a different place on that map. Accord Hybrid is the midsize sedan on honda.ca. There is no Accord EV page to undercut. If you are shopping a Civic, CR-V or Accord this month, the useful move is the same on both stories: confirm the written Honda Financial Services quote on the actual VIN, and do not wait for a headline that has not been published yet.
Quick answers
What is the September 20 Honda brief about?
Two stories: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, reported by Canadian Auto Dealer on September 18, said Ontario new light-vehicle sales rose 7.1% in August, about 4,500 extra units; and Lexus Canada, on September 15, put the 2027 ES on sale with the ES 350h Signature hybrid MSRP at $59,685, $2,965 under the ES 350e Signature EV.
What does that mean for a GTA Honda shopper?
Ontario's August bounce means more shoppers were in GTA stores than a year earlier, so popular Civic and CR-V colours can move first. On the sedan side, Lexus priced the hybrid under the EV, while Honda Canada still lists Accord as SE gas, Sport-L Hybrid and Touring Hybrid with no Accord EV page.
Shopping a Civic, CR-V or Accord this week?
Tell me the trim and I will tell you whether August's extra Ontario volume, or a Lexus ES quote, actually changes the number on that car.
Henry Chen
Sales and Leasing Executive, Maple Honda
89 Auto Vaughan Dr, Maple, ON L6A 4A1
647-523-6878 · henry@maplehonda.com
Canadian Auto Dealer, September 18, 2026, citing DesRosiers. Lexus Canada newsroom, September 15, 2026. Predictions are my personal read, not Honda Canada policy.
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