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New vehicle sales report – August 2012

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A total of 93,552 new vehicles were sold last month according to official VFACTS data. All states and territories, except Tasmania, registered more sales last month compared to August 2011.

Government sales are down compared to last year, but private and business sales are responsible for the strong August result. As always, SUV sales continue to put smiles on the faces of car dealers around the country. Those kidding themselves they need the freedom offered by SUVs have pushed up sales by 18.6% compared to August last year.

Year-to-date sales number 728,047, which is an increase of 9.4% on last year. Again, SUV sales are leading the way with 30% more sales than this time last year.

The Toyota HiLux continued to lead the sales charts last month, with 4,010 sales. Some distance back was the Mazda3 (2,990) and the Toyota Corolla (2,945).

Toyota continues its dominance overall as well, with 17,996 new buyers in August. Traditional rivals Holden (11,271) and Ford (7,795) claimed the minor placings. Hyundai and Mazda were snapping at the heels of the top three.

We look forward to seeing what impact new comers Infiniti and Opel can make on the sales charts in September.

Government new vehicle purchases continue to decline

New vehicle sales data released today show that government purchases continue to weaken with reductions in comparative monthly and year-to-date sales across all vehicle categories.

Overall, governments bought 22.5 per cent less vehicles in August this year than they did in August last year. Similarly, governments have bought 9.7 per cent (around 3,800) less vehicles during the eight months of 2012 than they had for the same eight month period in 2011.

Meanwhile, private and business purchases of SUVs and light commercial vehicles have delivered an otherwise healthy outcome for vehicle sales in August.

Sales of SUVs in all categories have grown 18.6 per cent (4,105) over the same month last year and 30.0 per cent overall (by 46,907 to 203,316 units) compared with the same period in 2011. The strongest growth is in the small SUV segment which has improved 61.5 per cent with 15,637 more units on a year to date basis.

Sales of light commercial vehicles increased 19.1 per cent (2,896) last month, compared with August in 2011, driven by a 38.2 per cent (3,160) increase in the 4×4 Pickup/Cab Chassis segment, and less so by a 30.9 per cent (82) increase in sales of vehicles in the less than 2.5t segment.

Passenger vehicle sales were down 3.7 per cent (1,811) in August compared with the same month last year, but the category still continues to be the highest selling, with 376,084 passenger cars sold so far in 2012.

Overall, 728,047 vehicles (cars, SUVs, light commercials and trucks) have been sold since the beginning of 2012. This is a 9.4 per cent increase (62,738 vehicles) on sales for the first eight months of 2011. August sales increased in every state and territory compared with the previous August, except Tasmanian sales which were down 13.7 per cent compared to last August, and 7.3 per cent down on a year to date basis.

On a month to month basis, 93,552 vehicles were sold in August 2012, an increase of 6.2 per cent (or 5,470 vehicles) compared to August 2011.

Sales of locally manufactured vehicles have weakened slightly, with 91,360 sold for the year to date, up 1.0 per cent from just over 90,000 this time last year.

For the fifth month in a row, the Toyota HiLux is the top selling model with 4,010 sales, followed by the Mazda3 (2,990), the Toyota Corolla (2,945), the Holden Cruze (2,628) and the Holden Commodore (2,435).

Toyota was the best performing brand overall in August selling 17,996 vehicles, followed by Holden with 11,271 and then Ford with 7,795.

Top 10 selling marques – August 2012

  1. Toyota – 17,996
  2. Holden – 11,271
  3. Ford – 7,795
  4. Hyundai – 7,732
  5. Mazda – 7,685
  6. Nissan – 6,487
  7. Volkswagen – 4,344
  8. Mitsubishi – 4,075
  9. Honda – 3,842
  10. Subaru – 3,204

Another Record Breaking Month for the Fiat Chrysler Australia Group Sales up 84 Per Cent on 2011

During August, the Fiat Chrysler group continued to break sales records for the American Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands. On a year-to-date basis to the end of August, the company has already sold more CJD vehicles – 13,014 – than it did in the entire twelve months of 2011, when sales totalled 11,931.

Managing director of the Fiat Chrysler Australia group, Clyde Campbell, was delighted with the results.

“Here we are at the end of August and we have already overtaken our whole-year sales for 2011. That’s an increase of 84 per cent over the previous year – a really excellent result,” Campbell said.

“And there’s still the last four months of the year to go,” he added.

On a monthly basis, the American brands were up 73 per cent for the month with a total of 1,979 sales. The top sellers for the three brands were the Jeep Grand Cherokee with 686 sales, the Compass with 286 and the Cherokee with 242 sales. Wrangler was slightly down due to supply shortages.

Sales during the last quarter are expected to be supported by the launch of several limited edition and special action models, along with model year 2013 updates. Of particular note is the release of a new variant to the Jeep Grand Cherokee line-up which should create significant additional interest in the popular four-wheel drive.

New Sales Record for Holden Captiva SUV Range

Record Holden Captiva SUV sales and solid performances from locally-produced models Cruze and Commodore contributed to a strong August sales result.

Official VFACTS figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries today confirmed Holden sold 11,271 vehicles last month for 12.0 per cent market share.

Holden capitalised on a booming SUV market with 1,497 Captiva 7 sales and 17.2 per cent segment share, making the seven-seat SUV the highest selling car in its segment in August. Holden sold 847 Captiva 5s for the month, while combined Captiva 5 and Captiva 7 sales tallied 2,344 units.

The carmaker’s local line-up also put in a solid performance with Cruze and Commodore finishing August as Australia’s fourth and fifth best-selling cars respectively.

Cruze remained Holden’s top-selling car in August, with 2,628 units and 13.7 per cent of the fiercely contended small car segment. Meanwhile, Commodore maintained its dominance of the large car segment with almost 50 per cent share and 2,435 sales.

Sales of 1,225 units earned Barina 10.9 per cent share of the light car segment, while Holden’s all-new Colorado continued to make gains by posting its best month since the new generation LCV range went on sale in June. Holden sold 1,581 Colorados in August.

Holden Director of Sales, Philip Brook said the company was continually looking at ways to increase the appeal of its line-up with high levels of standard equipment, recently-introduced capped price servicing and limited edition offers.

“Captiva continues to be a winner for us and we’re pleased to see it excel in the highly competitive and fast-moving SUV market,” he said.

“Last month, we responded to an increasingly competitive market with a 0.5 per cent finance offer on a range of Holden vehicles, which was a great success with customers.

“We’ll continue to look for opportunities to offer outstanding value and this month we’ve secured drive away pricing on Colorado LT Crew Cab models with manual transmission, Barina Spark and 5-door Barina Classic.

“There really has never been a better time to buy Holden.”

Year to date, Holden is number two in the market with 76,390 units and 10.5 per cent market share.

Veloster Leads the Way for Hyundai in August Sales Result

In an industry record August, that saw 93,552 vehicles sold nationally, Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) finished in fourth position overall with 7,732 sales, an increase of +4.2% over the previous year securing a total market share of 8.3% and a best-ever August sales month result since the brand launched in Australia in 1986.

In passenger car sales, Hyundai ranked third for the month with 5,833 vehicles sold and a market share of 12.5%, an increase of +6.4% from 5,481 vehicles sold in the same period 2011.

The month saw Veloster leading the Sports segment (seventh consecutive month since launch), while i20, ix35 and iLoad all achieved second places in their respective segments.

Hyundai led the Light segment with combined sales of the i20 and Accent models of 1,941 units to give a segment share of 17%.

“The sales for August are very pleasing with the company achieving an all-time record August result,” said Damien Meredith, Director of Sales, Hyundai Motor Company Australia. “Veloster has continued to perform well and we have been pleased with the interest shown to the new Veloster SR Turbo model.”

In the U.S., Hyundai Motor America (HMA) announced an all-time August sales record of 61,099 units, up +4% over August 2011.

Hyundai Motor Company recorded an August 2012 global sales result of 293,924 units compared to 308,122 sales for the same period 2011.

Hyundai’s Australian highlights include:

  • Veloster ranked first in the Sports segment, posting a sales result of 378 units and an 18.9% total segment share.
  • i20 ranked second place in the Light segment achieving 1,362 vehicle sales and a segment share of 12%.
  • ix35 ranked second in the SUV Small segment, posting a sales result of 1,113 units and a 21.1% segment share.
  • iLoad ranked second in the Van/CC 2.5-3.5t segment, achieving 526 vehicle sales and a segment share of 35.1%.

Mazda3 and CX-5 On Top as Mazda Continues Record Pace

Segment-topping performances from Mazda3 and CX-5 last month helped deliver Mazda Australia its second-best ever August result of 7,685 new vehicle sales, according to VFACTS figures released today.

Last year’s August 2011 sales result was bolstered by the company’s One Day Once A Year M-Day sale, making last month Mazda Australia’s best August under normal selling conditions.

Mazda Australia has now sold a total of 67,769 new cars, SUVs and utilities year-to-date for a market share of 9.3 per cent and remains the country’s third best-selling automotive brand.

Mazda3 once again topped the passenger sales charts in August with 2,990 sales securing the title of the country’s most popular car for the month and year-to-date.

Again demonstrating that it has firmly hit the sweet spot for Australian SUV buyers, the Mazda CX-5 recorded a segment-topping 1,679 sales. That achievement also made it the country’s top-selling SUV in August.

The CX-5 has topped the medium SUV segment in each of the five full months it has been on sale and it continues its solid march to the number one spot in the segment year-to-date.

Supporting the Mazda3 and CX-5 is the ever-popular Mazda2. With 1,157 sales last month, the Mazda2 has now sold more than 1000 cars for 39 months in a row (and in 56 of the past 59 months). The recent addition of USB connectivity across the Mazda2 range will continue the enduring appeal of the stylish little hatch.

Determined not to be outdone by its passenger car cousins, the Mazda BT-50 recorded 1,003 August sales.

The All-New Mazda6 may have just made its debut at the Moscow Motor Show, however the current model shows no sign of slowing down with 492 August sales keeping it amongst the best-selling family cars in the country.

With more new product around the corner and the company’s M-Day retail event this coming weekend, Mazda Australia is hopeful of continued strong sales and market share in September.

Mazda Australia managing director, Doug Dickson said, “August’s sales result really demonstrates the appeal of the whole Mazda range and it’s pleasing to see that we continue to meet the needs of our customers. However, we’re careful not to rest on our laurels. Further product developments, including the arrival of the All-New Mazda6, will help ensure we continue to deliver the stylish, insightful and spirited products that the market wants.”

Toyota dominates sales in August

Almost one in five new motor vehicles bought in Australia last month was a Toyota according to official figures released today.

Toyota captured a 19.2 per cent share of the market in August thanks to a strong across-the-range performance which saw Toyota top 10 market segments.

The star performer for Toyota was HiLux which, with sales of 4010 last month, was Australia’s best selling vehicle by more than a thousand unit sales.

Toyota Australia’s executive director of sales and marketing, Matthew Callachor, said it was the fifth consecutive month that HiLux had been Australia’s most popular nameplate.

“The popularity of HiLux is a testament to its unbreakable reputation and also a market shift to what you might describe as dual-role vehicles – those that serve motorist’s needs both at work and at play,” said Mr Callachor.

In the year-to-date Toyota has sold 141,811 vehicles – an increase of 27,818 or 24.4 per cent over the same period in 2011.

Contributing to its dominant performance has been the success of new generation Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, clear leaders in the mid-size passenger car segment with combined sales of 14,853 vehicles in 2012 – an increase of 25 per cent over last year.

Also doing well is Corolla, which sold 2945 in August and 24,956 so far this year – a performance Matthew Callachor described as “impressive”.

The recently launched Toyota 86 continued to make waves in August with 302 sales.

“I think it would be reasonable to describe the market reception for Toyota 86 as little short of a phenomenon,” said Mr Callachor. “At the moment its sales are only constrained by supply.”

Yaris continued its leadership of the light car segment with sales up 22.1 per cent so far this year.

Prado was once again Australia’s most popular rugged SUV with sales up 38.7 per cent over the same month last year.

Matthew Callachor said the overall Australian motor vehicle market remained buoyant, thanks particularly to sales of SUVs and 4×4 utes.

“SUV and 4×4 ute sales continued to be the big drivers of the market in August and the ongoing boom in their popularity is emerging as the big car market story of 2012.”