Volkswagen took the top spot in Toronto’s radio rankings with a play count 1,400 for the week of July 12 to July 18, according to the latest numbers from Media Monitors.

It’s the first time in the top spot for the automaker since January this year, up from outside the rankings to supplant Goodfood. The rest of Toronto’s top five radio advertisers were in line with the previous week, followed by Shoppers Drug Mart – which surged into sixth from 66th – and RBC.

The positioning was reflected categorically, with European automotive manufacturers taking the top spot, followed by lotteries and financial institutions. Local car dealers were the other big mover at the category level, increasing their spot count by over 120%.

In Montreal, automotive categories also dominated the radio rankings. Domestic car manufacturers took the top category spot with 899 spots (just one more than the government category), roughly double from the week before. Dealer associations went from 103 to 784, and Asian factories recorded 723 from 234. Local dealers and European manufacturers reflected the trend as well.

That translated into the Quebec government maintaining their ongoing lead at the account level in the market, but saw Volkswagen, Honda, the Toyota and Mazda Dealer Associations, along with Groupe Spinelli, jumping into the top 10 from outside the rankings the week prior.