New vehicle sales report – January 2011

The start of the new calendar year has seen a solid result in the new car market with 73,584 new vehicles finding homes. That’s a minor drop in sales of 1280 (1.7%) compared to January last year.

However, it is worth noting that sales in flood ravaged Queensland dropped by almost 2000 (12.8%) compared to the same month in 2010.

According to FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar, “New vehicle sales in Queensland have taken a hit as people concentrate on the flood recovery effort.

“We can expect sales in Queensland to be slower in the short-term but will pick up in the months ahead as people begin to look for replacement vehicles.”

Toyota, Holden and Mazda begin the year as the top three selling marques in Australia.

Robust Start To New Vehicle Sales In 2011

The new vehicle market has started the year with a solid result albeit down slightly on last year due to a significant decrease in sales in Queensland.

Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 73,584 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in January (down 1.7 per cent or 1,280 vehicles compared to the same month in 2010).

“This is a robust January sales result and provides a good start to 2011,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“It is encouraging to see that private buyers remained confident throughout January with sales to those customers up 13.6 percent while business purchases declined,” he said.

Sales of new vehicles in Queensland were down 12.8 per cent or almost two thousand vehicles this January.

“Obviously new vehicle sales in Queensland have taken a hit as people concentrate on the flood recovery effort,” he said.

“We can expect sales in Queensland to be slower in the short-term but will pick up in the months ahead as people begin to look for replacement vehicles,” Mr McKellar said.

Toyota was the best performing brand in January with a market share of 20.1% followed by Holden with 11.4% and then Mazda with a 9.8% share. Ford and Hyundai shared fourth position, each having an 8.7% share of the market.

Optima-istic Start To The Year For Kia

Kia Motors Australia has literally launched into the new year, unveiling the all new Optima at the Australian Tennis Open in the middle of January.

Optima joined Cerato, Rio, Soul and Carnival to provide Kia’s passenger vehicle fleet with a strong start up 12.7% compared to January 2010 in a local market which was down .1%.

Leading the charge was the Kia Carnival with its 238 sales in the People Movers under $40,000 representing 34.9% of the market share.

Rio also had a strong start to the year with its 675 sales resulting in a 17% increase on January 2010 figures.

The new Cerato hatch and Cerato sedan combined to be up 28.4% for the month compared to the same period last year.

“We added two new vehicles to the fleet last year and upgraded five others. That trend will continue in 2011 as the new Kia design DNA and latest technology becomes available,” said Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Tony Barlow.

“In January we unveiled the all new Kia Optima. With its head turning looks and a long list of safety features and creature comforts, this is another step in Kia’s new journey. All new and current models will continue to receive input from the Australian product team to make sure that every Kia product meets the high standard demanded by the Australian public.”

In the competitive SUV market Kia Sorento made a sales gain of 51.7% during January compared to the same month in 2010.

Mazda’s January Sales Joy

Mazda Australia has started the new year in style by securing 7,200 sales and a 9.8 per cent market share for a record January result according to official VFACTS figures.

This represents an increase of over 500 vehicles and a 0.9 per cent increase in market share compared with the start of 2010, a year in which Mazda eventually achieved record sales.

And for the second time in the last six months, Mazda is the country’s third best selling automotive brand.

Mazda’s January sales success was achieved by strong performances across its range of passenger cars and SUVs with the effervescent Mazda3 leading the way.

A total of 3,605 sales made the Mazda3 the country’s second most popular vehicle in January with a 19.2 per cent segment share.

Its smaller sibling, the Mazda2, recorded one of its strongest ever months with 1,359 sold for an 11.3 per cent segment share.

The evergreen Mazda6 continued to hold its position as Australia’s favourite imported family car with 516 finding homes last month for a 14.5 per cent market share, up 0.5 per cent on January last year.

The Mazda CX-7 made significant progress on the sales charts last year and that momentum continued in January.

The dynamic CX-7 recorded 704 sales in January for an 8.3 per cent segment share, a 0.5 per cent increase on the same time last year.

While Mazda Australia managing director, Doug Dickson was obviously pleased with the record start to the year, he is not getting carried away with the result.

“To start 2011 in such a manner is very pleasing and we have to acknowledge the efforts of the Mazda dealer network who have hit the ground running this year. January, however, is a period where Mazda traditionally tends to do well and the challenge from here is to continue that momentum,” he said.

“The year has just started but we’re looking optimistically towards the remainder of the year as we see new Mazda products coming through.”

January Sales Sizzle For Subaru

Subaru sales of 3531 vehicles in January gave the Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive brand a 4.8 per cent market share and a new monthly record for Impreza, according to official VFACTS figures released today.

Impreza sales of 1765 were up 102.2 per cent on January last year. It beat Impreza’s previous record of 1597, set in May 2010.

Also performing strongly was Forester with 905 sales and Outback with 475.

Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia, said: “It was a strong start to the year for Subaru and with our revised Forester line-up just going into showrooms, customers will have even greater choice from our range in the coming weeks.”

Subaru’s result was rounded out by sales of 304 Libertys and 78 Tribecas.