New vehicle sales report – August 2011

Things are looking up as far as new vehicle sales in Australia are concerned. At total of 88,082 sales were recorded in August. That’s up 7091 compared to the previous month and 5960 more than August 2010.

Steve Payne, FCAI acting Chief Executive, explains the market is trending upwards after a slow start to 2011, “We’re continuing to see a recovery in supply from earthquake and tsunami-damaged Japan, along with stronger sales in Queensland as the state recovers from severe weather events earlier in the year.”

The real news is that the Mazda3 knocked the Holden Commodore of its perch as the country’s highest selling car. While Toyota comfortably held its position as the highest selling marque, ahead of Holden and Mazda.

New motor vehicle sales rise significantly in August

5th September, 2011

New motor vehicle sales rose significantly in August 2011 compared with the same month last year, according to official figures released today by the FCAI.

88,082 new vehicles were sold during August, representing an increase of 7.3% (or 5,960 vehicles) over August 2010.

“These positive figures are good news for the automotive industry in Australia, and put the industry firmly on track to achieve the one million sales target for 2011,” said FCAI acting Chief Executive, Steve Payne.

Mr Payne said the robust August sales reflect a range of factors, including the attractiveness of the very large range of models available to Australian buyers.

“We’re continuing to see a recovery in supply from earthquake and tsunami-damaged Japan, along with stronger sales in Queensland as the state recovers from severe weather events earlier in the year,” he said.

Among the top 10 best-selling makes Mazda had its best-ever month, ranking third in August with 9,138 new vehicle sales. Passenger vehicles accounted for 6,783 of Mazdas sold, up more than 44% on August 2010.

Sales of Holden’s locally manufactured vehicles were up 55% month-on-month, reflecting strong demand for the company’s Commodore and Cruze models.

Mr Payne said private and business customers are continuing their shift toward compact SUVs and 4×4 utility vehicles, with respective sales growing 4.9% and 6.7% year-to-date.

“The Luxury SUV segment also continues to strengthen, up 18.9% year-to-date.

“Despite these encouraging figures, year-to-date new vehicle sales are still trailing 2010 levels by some 4.4%, or 30,357 vehicles.”

Mazda3 was the best selling single model in August, with 4234 reported sales. Holden’s Commodore and Cruze models placed second and third with 3632 and 3234 sales, followed by Toyota Corolla (3100) and Toyota HiLux (2823).

Toyota was the best selling brand in August, selling 15,885 vehicles for an 18% market share, followed by Holden with 11,534 (13.1%) and Mazda with 9138 sales (10.4% market share).

 

Commodore and Cruze Lead Holden’s August Sales

• Commodore and Cruze No.2 and No.3 in August
  
• Cruze hatch introduced in Q4

Holden’s steady sales performance continued in August with its popular home-grown Commodore and Cruze models heading Holden’s charge.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reported today Holden captured 13.1 per cent of the August new car market with total sales of 11,534 units – Holden’s best August result since 2007 and 3.5 per cent higher than the same month last year.

The August result brings Holden’s year-to-date tally to 84,923 units and 12.8 market share.

Holden’s family-friendly Commodore put in another consistent performance to record its best August since 2008 and sell 3,682 units for the month, placing it second in overall sales. Commodore’s market share also remained strong, accounting for 55.6 per cent of the large car segment in August and 56.3 per cent year-to-date.

Closely tracking Commodore was Holden’s Cruze sedan, which recorded its third consecutive month above 3,000 units.

Holden sold 3,234 Cruze sedans in August, its second-highest sales result since launch in 2009 and 35.7 per cent higher than August 2010.

Holden Director of Sales Philip Brook said Holden’s strategy to continually improve the efficiency and performance of its cars and provide customers with the right mix of products was key to its positive August result.

“We’re continuing to make a compelling case for large cars in Australia, all three Commodore engines are now E85 compatible and we’ve just announced new fuel economy of 8.9 litres for the Omega sedan,” he said.

“We couldn’t be happier with the customer acceptance of Cruze, its unique mix of style, keen pricing and fuel efficiency is drawing new customers every day.

“We’ve sold almost 10,000 Cruze sedans in the last three months, which is a significant achievement with only one body style. We expect this story to get even better when we launch the Cruze hatch later this year.”

Holden begins production of its MY12 Commodore range this week and will announce full details in the coming days.

 

i20 Sales Going Places in Hyundai’s Record August

Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) has recorded its best-ever August sales result. Hyundai finished in fifth position overall with 7,417 sales achieving a market share of 8.4%. The sales result saw an increase of +13.1% August 2011 v. August 2010 in a total market which was up +7.3% over the same period.

In passenger car sales, HMCA ranked fourth for the month, and fourth YTD with 5,481vehicles sold and a market share of 11.3%.

The multi-award winning i20 placed third in the light car segment with its best-ever sales result since launch of 1,163 vehicle sales and a market share of 10.4%.

“The new Accent hatch and sedan models arrived in August,” said Damien Meredith, Director of Sales, Hyundai Motor Company Australia. “Alongside the i20 hatch and i30 range, the new Accent offers consumers a range of solutions to their motoring needs in the smaller car market.”

Hyundai Motor America (HMA) has announced an August sales figure of 58,505 vehicles, an increase of +9.1% August 2011 v. August 2010. Sales are up +21.3% August YTD versus the same period a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor Company has seen an overall increase in global sales of +5.1% rising from 292,491 in August 2010 to 307,320 in August 2011. Domestic sales also increased by +4% (August 2011 v. August 2010) with 51,322 units sold compared to 49,362 for the same period last year.

Hyundai’s Australian highlights include:

• i20 ranked third in the light car segment achieving 1,163 vehicle sales and a market share of 10.4%.
  
• iMax ranked second in the people mover segment after posting a sales result of 151 units and a 15% market share.
  
• iLoad ranked first in the van segment achieving 629 vehicle sales and a market share of 33.2%.

 

Kia Back in the Top 10 Club

Kia has broken back into the Top 10 for August with a sales increase of almost 10 per cent over the previous year, according to official industry figures released by VFACTS.

With sales of 2102 cars in August Kia has stepped back into 10th position amongst Australia’s top-selling automotive manufacturers.

“In what has been a challenging environment this is a clear indication that Australian buyers are willing to look closely at the new Kia range,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer, Tony Barlow, said.

“With the launch of the all-new Rio due in September and stocks of the superseded model dwindling it was always going to be a difficult month for us in the marketplace. However, the fact that other models in the range stepped up to the plate to keep Kia’s momentum going is exciting and satisfying.”

While stock shortages saw sales of the run-out Rio tumble by more than 67 per cent, the Cerato continued its stellar climb up the numbers with an increase of 92.3 per cent over the same month in 2010. For the year, Cerato sales _ boosted by the arrival of the well-received 5-door Hatch _ have jumped 73.1 per cent.

Kia’s dominance of the People Mover under $55,000 market increased in August with a 43.5 per cent share, giving a dominant year-to-date share of 35.8 per cent. The increased demand for Carnival in August was driven by the arrival of the segment-leading 3.5-litre petrol V6 and the widely-praised 2.2 R series diesel.

Soul enjoyed a popularity revival from a small base with a jump in sales of 192.9 per cent for the month over 2010 while Rondo also picked up ground for the month with a 91.3 per cent rise in sales.

Sportage and Sorento continued their strong demand and with improved supply for the month increased sales by 7 percent and 91.8 per cent respectively over last August. Optima maintained its popularity on supply-constrained demand.

“With almost universal growth in model demand Kia is continuing to track on target for our business plan,” Mr Barlow said. “With genuine market excitement over new Rio we are confident that will continue through the second half of the year.”

 

Mazda Sets New Record

Mazda Australia established a new best ever monthly result in August with a total of 9,138 new vehicles being sold.

This result eclipses Mazda’s previous best of 8,850 set in September last year and secures the company a record 10.4 per cent market share for the month.

A number of record-breaking performances across the range helped to make this result possible.

Leading the way with 4,234 sales, Mazda3 volume has increased 9.8 per cent year-to-date compared with the same time last year.

Demonstrating the Mazda3’s current levels of popularity, its new August benchmark eclipsed the previous monthly best of 4,212 set just two months ago in June.

The Mazda2 continued its strong sales success in August by notching up a new monthly record of 1,966.

A recent facelift has helped to boost the appeal of the Mazda2 and the sheer magnitude of its success so far this year is illustrated by the fact that it is now 27 per cent ahead compared to the same time last year.

Determined not to be outdone by its smaller siblings, the CX-7 compact SUV became the third Mazda model to record a new monthly benchmark with 1,089 sales in August.

Mazda Australia managing director, Doug Dickson is understandably positive about Mazda’s August result and the outlook for the rest of the year.

“This is an outstanding result and one which we’re obviously very satisfied with” he said.

“Credit must go to our dedicated dealer network which continues to take advantage of every opportunity presented to them including our recent M-Day special offers. While some market challenges remain, our dealers have demonstrated their ability to meet those challenges and set us up for a very strong end to the year.”

Mazda has sold 59,918 new vehicles so far this year, an increase of 3,200 or 5.6 per cent over the same time last year. This increase has been achieved in spite of an overall market which is down 4.4 per cent year-to-date.

 

Renault Australia Up 99.7% Year-to-Date

Renault has maintained its solid growth in Australia with a strong August sales result. According to VFACTS figures released today, Renault delivered 401 new vehicles in August 2011, which equates to sizeable growth of 99.7% year-to-date and an incredible 278.3% increase over August 2010.

Once again the Mégane hatch was the stand out for the brand posting the strongest sales for the month. It was very closely followed by its Fluence sibling highlighting the strength and importance of the small car segment.

Light commercial vehicles also contributed heavily to the result with 36 Kangoo and 47 Trafic delivered to customers in August.

“Once again the Renault brand has demonstrated its resurgence in Australia with our second strongest month for 2011,” said Justin Hocevar, Managing Director of Renault Australia.

“We set ourselves an ambitious target at the beginning of this year and we are well on the way to achieving it. We have been aggressive and determined in product line-up and retail campaigns and we are seeing the results of this.

“We are in a fantastic position for a strong end to 2012 and to achieve our targets. Our new Sales Director arrives in September and I am confident that he will continue this incredible momentum.”

 

Auto industry heading for one million sales — Toyota

Toyota Australia is predicting local motorists will purchase more than one million new vehicles in 2011 with a sales surge over the next four months.

The company’s senior executive director sales and marketing, David Buttner, said underlying demand pointed to the million-plus result.

“Unprecedented mining, construction and infrastructure investments are driving the Australian economy,” Mr Buttner said.

“Automotive producers such as Toyota are benefiting from strong demand for new vehicles being generated as a result of these huge injections of capital.

“In August, for example, the popular HiLux workhorse was among the best-selling vehicles in the country, even though some customers may have held back due to the arrival of a significantly revamped range being launched today.

“Sales of LandCruiser 70 Series – a perennial favourite among miners and other hard-core applications – were up more than 37 per cent compared with the same month last year.

“LandCruiser 200 Series sales rose more than 88 per cent, which is another key indicator of strong economic activity.”

A one-million sales result would make 2011 only the fourth calendar year to crack that mark. The others were 2010, 2008 and 2007 – which was an all-time record of almost one million and fifty thousand.

Mr Buttner said demand continued to outstrip supply for commercial vehicles as well as models such as the Kluger and LandCruiser Prado SUVs.

“We are pushing hard to get extra allocations for Australia of sought-after vehicles and variants to meet the consistently strong customer orders.

“We are also well placed for an orderly run-out of our locally produced four-cylinder Camry, Camry Hybrid and V6 Aurion ahead of new models.

“Next-generation Camry is due in late November, the hybrid version in the first quarter of 2012 and Aurion in the second quarter,” Mr Buttner said.