Metro Vancouver has the highest number of luxury vehicles per capita in North America, according to a local car expert.

Craig Stowe, president of the Luxury & Supercar Weekend show which takes place Sept. 7 and 8 in Vancouver, says people with money are drawn to the city.

"It's one of the nicest, cleanest, easiest places to live in the world. So people are buying second homes here and with that buy a second car," Stowe said. "So they have a tendency to buy something spectacular."

Many automakers, including luxury automakers, reported record sales for August, the second month that sales have reached new monthly highs.

Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Jaguar Land Rover all reported big increases over the previous year.

Canadian sales in August were up 6.5 per cent from last year, with car sales increasing by 7.2 per cent and light truck sales up 5.9 per cent, according to data compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants and released Wednesday.

Automakers have sold 1.2 million units in Canada so far this year, up from 1.16 million at the same point last year.