New vehicle sales report – June 2012

Not content with May’s sales figures—an all-time record for that month—Australian car buyers have now set a new record for any month, registering 112,566 vehicle sales in June. That’s a staggering increase of 16,409 sales compared to June 2011.

Year-to-date sales total 547,854 vehicles and you’d suggest that means Australia will once again top one million annual sales.

The Toyota HiLux was the country’s highest selling model in June with 4,308 sales, ahead of the Mazda3 (3,924) and Toyota Corolla (3,804).

It’s no surprise, then, to see Toyota continue their stranglehold as the best selling manufacturer. They sold 21,649 vehicles last month, compared to 10,632 by Holden and 9,672 for Hyundai.

New record for vehicle sales in one month

June 2012 was the best ever month on record for vehicle sales, according to the official VFACTS data released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). June is consistently the best performing month for sales (9 of the top 10 sales months), with the previous record set in June 2010 when 108,722 vehicles were sold.

Overall, 112,566 vehicles (cars, SUVs, light commercials and trucks) were sold in June 2012, an increase of 17.1 per cent (or 16,409 vehicles) compared to June 2011. On a year to date basis, this is a 10.4 per cent increase (51,618 vehicles) on sales for the first six months in 2011. Overall, 547,854 vehicles have been sold since the beginning of 2012.

June sales increased in every state and territory except for Tasmania, compared with the previous June.

Petrol driven cars continue to dominate private passenger vehicle sales, representing over 92 per cent of the 162,676 vehicles sold in this segment in the first half of 2012. Diesel driven private passenger cars represent 6.5 per cent of sales in this segment, up 1.4 per cent for the year to 10,404 units. Sales of hybrid private passenger vehicles are up 84 per cent (from 1,060 to 1,950 units), compared with this time last year, representing just over 1 per cent of private passenger vehicle sales.

In the sports utility vehicle (SUV) private sales segment over the same period, diesel driven vehicles have just over 35 per cent of the market and sales are up by over 62 per cent compared to the first six months of 2011. Overall, sales of SUVs are up 33.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2011.

Sales of electric, LPG and hybrid vehicles remain relatively low in absolute numbers, but growth is evident – LPG powered passenger vehicles for example are up from 680 sales at this time in 2011 to over 1,700 in 2012. Sales of locally manufactured vehicles are strong, with nearly 70,000 sold for the year to date, up from just over 63,000 this time last year.

For the third month in a row, the popular Mazda3 (3,924) was outsold by the Toyota HiLux with 4,308 sales. A number of other vehicles sold in excess of 3,000 units for the month, including the Toyota Corolla (3,804), Holden Cruze (3,057), Nissan Navara (3,034) and Hyundai i30 (3,024).

Toyota was the best performing brand overall in June selling 21,649 vehicles, followed by Holden with 10,632 and then Mazda with 9,593.

Top 10 selling marques – June 2012

1. Toyota – 21,649
2. Holden – 10,632
3. Hyundai – 9,672
4. Mazda – 9,593
5. Ford – 9,140
6. Nissan – 8,330
7. Mitsubishi – 6,498
8. Volkswagen – 6,446
9. Honda – 4,136
10. Subaru – 4,101

BMW Goes From Strength to Strength

Australia’s top-selling luxury car brand has extended its market lead with BMW recording its second-highest sales month of all time in June.

BMW delivered 1,969 luxury cars and Sports Activity Vehicles in June, an improvement of more than ten per cent when compared to the same month last year and bringing BMW’s total for the year to 8,846 units.

BMW has finished the first half of the year well ahead of its rivals and posted a 4.6 percent uplift in sales compared to the same time last year.

BMW Group Australia Managing Director, Phil Horton said BMW is a brand “on the move.”

“Despite highly competitive market conditions demand for BMW in Australia is stronger than ever,” said Mr Horton.

“The new BMW 3 Series, now offered with a full engine line-up, has received international critical acclaim and is the top-selling car in its class this month,” he said.

Mr Horton said core volume BMWs continued to perform strongly alongside recently-launched new models.

“In spite of new competitor entrants the BMW X5 remains the performance benchmark and the most sought-after vehicle in its class,” said Mr Horton.

Sales highlights for BMW include:

• Both BMW 1 Series Hatch and Convertible lead their respective classes in sales for the year
  
• The new BMW 3 Series, which launched in February, is now offered with a complete engine line-up which saw it lead its class in June sales
  
• The BMW 5 Series was the top-seller in its class in June
  
• The BMW X5 remains Australia’s most popular large luxury SAV outselling its rivals last month and for the year overall.

Holden June VFACTS Sales Results

Holden’s June sales results reflected a very competitive market and the company’s continued focus on profitability and long-term sustainability.

Official VFACTS figures released today confirm Holden sold 10,632 vehicles in June to achieve market share of 9.4 per cent for the month.

The home-grown Holden Cruze was the company’s top-selling car in June, with sales of 3,057 units. Australia’s small car remains a key player in its segment, capturing 12.4 per cent segment share for the month.

Commodore continued to dominate the large car segment in June with total sales of 2,743 units and 50.7 per cent share.

Holden’s Captiva range put in a consistent performance in June, with combined Captiva 5 and 7 sales of 1,569 units, while Barina captured 9.4 per cent of the light car segment with 1,256 units.

Holden Director of Sales, Philip Brook said aggressive end of financial year campaigns and limited supply of key models constrained Holden’s sales.

“June was another tough month for Holden but customers have started to take delivery of the new Colorado, and we’re expecting to meet the balance of pre-orders in the coming months,” he said.

“The first half of the year has seen restricted supply of new key models like Barina and Colorado.

“We’re looking forward to the second half of the year when we’ll have a stronger pipeline of vehicles and a fresh, new direction in Holden advertising around the new long range electric Volt.

“There is extremely aggressive competition in the market but we are focussed on managing our business in a sustainable and responsible manner. We won’t chase market share at the expense of profit or long-term residual values.”

Holden has sold a total 56,183 vehicles year-to-date for a market share of 10.3 per cent.

HMCA Continues to Break Records

In a month that saw 112,566 vehicles sold nationally, Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) finished in third position overall with 9,672 sales in June, an increase of +13.3% over the previous year. The result secured a total market share of 8.6% and led to record month-end sales for HMCA.

In passenger car sales, Hyundai ranked third for the month with 7,064 vehicles sold and a market share of 12.3%.

The month saw HMCA achieve a number of ‘best ever’ results including highest ever monthly sales for the company since its foundation in 2003, and second highest sales month since the introduction of the brand to Australia in 1986. In addition, the all-new Elantra, i40, Veloster, ix35 and iLoad all recorded their best ever monthly sales results since their respective launches into the Australian market.

For the fifth consecutive month since its launch the Veloster topped the Sports segment with 450 sales and a segment share of 27.3% for sports vehicles less than $80,000, or 20.2% of the total sports segment. The ix35 continued to perform strongly with a second consecutive place in the SUV Small segment with 1,360 sales and a 20.8% segment share. Business and private buyers alike continued to favour the iLoad, which placed first in the Vans/CC 2.5-3.5t segment with 747 sales and a segment share of 39.3%.

Hyundai led the Small segment with a segment share of 16%, achieved through combined sales of its i30 and Elantra models. In the Light segment Hyundai placed third with combined sales for the i20 and Accent of 1681, to give a segment share of 12.4%.

“It’s very encouraging to see the continued growth for not only new models, but across the entire range,” said Damien Meredith, Director of Sales, Hyundai Motor Company Australia. “The result is testament to the effort and focus we put into understanding customer needs and continually improving our value offering.”

In the U.S., Hyundai Motor America (HMA) announced an all-time June sales record of 63,813 units, up +8% over June 2011. For the first half of the year, sales are up +10% to a record 356,669 units.

Hyundai Motor Company has seen an overall increase in global sales of +5.8% rising from 354,254 units in June 2011 to 374,827 units in June 2012.

Hyundai’s Australian highlights include:

• Veloster ranked first in the Sports segment, posting a sales result of 450 units and a 20.2% total segment share.
  
• iLoad ranked first in the Van/CC 2.5-3.5t segment, achieving 747 vehicle sales and a segment share of 39.3%.
  
• ix35 ranked second in the SUV Small segment, posting a sales result of 1,360 units and a 20.8% segment share.
  
• iMax ranked third in the People Mover segment, achieving 203 vehicle sales and a segment share of 18.2%.

Record Month as Kia Powers On

Sales remain on target in Kia’s growth plan

Kia continued its stately progress through the Australian new car market with an all-time record 3400 sales month in June as the overall market numbers reached new levels.

The record June result saw Kia record a 24.4 per cent jump on June 2011, while the year-to-date sales of 15,809 represent a growth rate of 23.2 per cent over the same period last year.

“Again we are very pleased with our performance in a market that is surprisingly active,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Tony Barlow said. “While it was an all-time record for Kia in Australia and right up with our business plan, the overall market performance was quite surprising.

“The total sales of 112,566 certainly gives an indication of Australia’s new car sales topping the magic one million mark again this year.”

Mr Barlow said that once again the highlight for Kia was the wide spread of improving sales for the brand’s model range.

“Cerato sales are particularly strong with the 1016 new sales representing an increase of more than 100 per cent over June last year and a 52.8 per cent year-to-date sales growth over the first half of this year. Add to that spectacular growth for Optima (159.1 per cent YTD) and the continued strong

performances of Sorento and Sportage (38 and 32.4 per cent YTD respectively) and the story is very pleasing.”

Carnival continued to dominate the sub-$55,000 people mover market with the 368 sales representing 33 per cent of the market, or one-in-three of every sale.

Mazda Maintains Record Pace

Mazda Australia finished the first half of 2012 as it started — on record sales pace — with the country’s top-selling import brand setting a new retail record of 9593 sales in June.

According to VFACTS figures released today, Mazda Australia sold 52133 vehicles during the first sixth months of the year (9.5 per cent market share) for an increase of 19 per cent on last year’s January to June total.

The All-New Mazda CX-5 once again topped the sales charts in the Medium SUV segment with 1,955, a record result that made the newest member of Mazda Australia’s line-up and the first in the range to embrace the full suite of SKYACTIV Technology and KODO design, the country’s best selling SUV.

Mazda3, with 3924 sales and 15.9 per cent market share, was again Australia’s number one passenger selling car. Mazda3 sales are up 2.8 per cent year-on-year.

Mazda2, with 1510 retails and BT-50 with 1135 sales, also contributed significantly to the record monthly total.

Mazda Australia’s Managing Director Doug Dickson said “Mazda’s sales performance during June again demonstrates Mazda’s brand momentum. The CX-5 result clearly demonstrates that Mazda’s SKYACTIV technology and KODO design are a perfect fit for the Australian market and points to more success for the brand in the year’s ahead”.

Strong SUV Sales Boost Mitsubishi Motors’ June Result

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited finished the first half of 2012 with solid June sales, recording impressive figures across the SUV and PU/CC 4X4 segments.

Triton 4×4 was the standout performer in June with 1,675 units, a remarkable 48.9 percent growth on June 2011. This result strengthened the Triton’s position as the third best-selling utility in a highly competitive PU/CC 4×4 segment.

With total SUV sales of 2,503, MMAL experienced strong growth of 13 percent over June 2011. Sales of the legendary Pajero surged with 795 units, a 23.5 percent increase in a revitalised Large SUV segment.

MMAL’s city-sized ASX continued to be a robust performer with 736 units, while the Challenger recorded growth of 19.5 percent against June 2011 with 270 units. Outlander recorded a solid month with 702 units, rounding out MMAL’s outstanding total SUV result in June.

In the Small Vehicle segment Lancer contributed significantly to MMAL’s sales result with 1,628 units.

Vice-president of sales, Anthony Casey, said MMAL is focused on long-term steady growth, with the second half of 2012 set to kick-start a busy 18 months of new and refreshed products.

“MMAL are looking forward to an exciting second half of the year with a number of updates and launches, starting with the new-look ASX, followed closely by the all-new Outlander and the launch of our brand new light car, the Mirage,” Casey said.

According to VFACTS figures, MMAL sold 31,139 vehicles during the first sixth months of the year, resulting in a 5.7 percent market share.

June is Record Month for Nissan

Nissan Australia has recorded its strongest month of sales in over two decades in June 2012.

An outstanding 8,330 reported units (VFACTS) were sold in June, representing a record month for Nissan since becoming a full-line importer in Australia in 1992.

In a buoyant market, Nissan’s first quarter sales April-to-June (financial year April-to-March) were up 27 percent on the first quarter of the company’s 2011 financial year.

June’s sales put Nissan up 37 percent on the same month last year and in sixth place overall for the month.

The Navara, X-TRAIL and DUALIS models again performed well, with all three achieving record-breaking results.

DUALIS – 1,395 units is all-time record, up 70 percent on June 2011
X-TRAIL – 1,662 units is a June record, up 37 percent on June 2011
Navara – 3,034 units is an all-time record, up 34 percent on June 2011

Nissan Australia CEO William F Peffer said that June’s record sales figures continued a strong start to the company’s financial year.

“A record month in June as a full-line importer and very strong total market share is an outstanding result for Nissan and a great way to end our first quarter,” said Peffer.

“DUALIS, X-TRAIL and Navara are clearly on a roll and with more innovative and exciting models to come over the next 12-18 months, the future for Nissan in Australia is looking bright.”

Toyota powers through 200,000 sales

Australia’s most popular car brand Toyota has scored an emphatic sales victory with customers buying more than 200,000 of its vehicles in the financial year ended Saturday.

Local motorists voted with their wallets to take home 202,531 Toyota cars, SUVs and light-commercial vehicles in the past 12 months.

Official figures released today show Toyota’s sales tally for the year to June 30 was 82,823 higher than any other carmaker.

The figures reveal that Toyota pushed through the 200,000 barrier with a dominant sales performance in June, led by HiLux and Corolla.

HiLux was Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the third consecutive month and the eighth time overall in June with sales for the rugged workhorse topping 4308.

The result lifted Toyota’s June total to 21,649 customer deliveries – 11,017 clear of its nearest rival.

In the three months to June 30, HiLux was easily the country’s most in-demand vehicle with almost 12,500 sales.

Other leading contributors to the June result included 3804 sales for the evergreen Corolla, 2303 locally built Camry and Camry Hybrid sedans and 2159 Yaris hatches and sedans.

The exciting new 86 sports car was a sell-out success in its first month with 414 snapped up.

Unprecedented demand for the stylish coupe has led to a long wait for most buyers, typically between six and 12 months.

The last time Toyota passed 200,000 registrations in a year was in 2010.

It is the only carmaker in Australia to sell more than 200,000 vehicles in any 12-month period and to exceed 20,000 deliveries in a single month.

Toyota Australia’s executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor said 200,000 was a real achievement in the face of production shortages through much of the year due to natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.

“This strong result is due to the untiring efforts of Toyota people everywhere to rebuild supply of key vehicles – and it was truly remarkable that they turned around the situation much faster than anyone expected,” Mr Callachor said.

“Credit goes to Toyota workers in Japan and Thailand as well as to our 4,200 employees in Australia, especially those at the Altona plant in Victoria, and to our dealer network who have kept customers informed of developments.

“Expanded production at Toyota’s HiLux factory in Thailand has enabled us to deliver a substantial number of vehicles in recent months,” he added.

Mr Callachor said the company’s 2012 sales forecasts remained unchanged – more than 200,000 for Toyota and more than 1,000,000 for the industry.