New vehicle sales report – August 2009

Word on the street is that private buyers are starting to buy more cars. Sales data from VFACTS reports 73,287 vehicles drove out the door in August, a drop of 5.2% (4,036 vehicles) from the same month last year. August sales are also down 2,046 vehicles on July 2009.

Despite the comparative fall, sales in some market segments showed strong growth. This includes a very healthy increase of 19.2% for the luxury SUV market. Solid improvements for commercial vans (8.2%) and small cars (7.2%) were also posted.

“These figures indicate that private buyers are regaining confidence and re-entering the market,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

Year to date sales figures total 603,843 vehicles, which is 100,151 fewer sales than at the same point in 2008. Toyota remains in the top sales position for August with 15,994 vehicle sales, ahead of Holden with 9,505 and Ford with 7,623.

UPDATE 4 September: Brag sheets from Mazda and Hyundai added below.

Private Buyers Returning to Car Showrooms

The latest new vehicle sales data shows private buyers have begun returning to showrooms in greater numbers adding to the demand from businesses who continue to take advantage of stimulus measures.

Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 73,287 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in August 2009.

“These figures indicate that private buyers are regaining confidence and re-entering the market,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“The better than expected sales to private buyers and rental companies have really buoyed the market heading into spring,” he said.

This August result is down 5.2 per cent (4,036 vehicles) compared to August last year but there were increases in some segments of the market.

• SUV luxury – up 19.2 per cent
• Commercial vans – up 8.2 per cent
• Small cars – up 7.2 per cent
• SUV medium – up 1.6 per cent
• Sports cars – up 1.4 per cent
• Light cars – up 0.3 per cent

“Strong demand continues from business buyers who are taking advantage of the tax break available and the effectiveness of the stimulus measure is being reflected in the supply constraints experienced on some models,” Mr McKellar said.

Year-to-date 603,843 new vehicles have been sold, down 14.2 per cent (100,151) compared to the same period last year.

Toyota remains in the top sales position for August with 15,994 vehicle sales, ahead of Holden with 9,505 and Ford with 7,623.

Mazda Still Strong and Still #1 Importer

Mazda Australia continues to pave the way as the country’s top selling importer year-to-date, with 50,490 passenger and light commercial vehicles sold so far this year.

According to August VFACTS figures, year-to-date Mazda has an 8.4 percent share in the Australian new car market – up 0.57 percentage points compared to the same time last year.

The company famous for its Zoom-Zoom infused product sold a total 5,863 new vehicles in August, securing an 8.0 percent share for the month. That’s up 0.46 percentage points over the same month 2008.

The sporty and compact New Generation Mazda3 continued to make in-roads last month.

Almost 2,900 new Mazda3s were sold in August, up 7.6 percent on the same month last year. This secured Mazda a 15.5 percent monthly share in country’s largest and most competitive new car segment, Small <$40K.

The classy and refined Mazda6 was Australia’s best selling full-line medium import vehicle last month, with 694 going to new homes across the country. That’s up 2.1 percent on sales achieved in August 2008.

Mazda’s passenger car sales increased 3.0 percent over the same month in 2008 to give a 10.7 percent share.

It was a strong month for the company’s award-winning light commercial ute BT-50. Mazda sold 396 4×2 BT-50s in August, up 32.4 percent on the same month last year. Combined BT-50 4×2 and 4×4 sales boosted the company’s Light Commercial sales by 13.5 percent over August 2008.

Mazda managing director Doug Dickson was pleased to see last month bring strong sales across the entire Mazda range.

“Mazda maintains a position of strength in this increasingly competitive new car market by offering outstanding features, class-leading handling, dynamics and styling in an outstandingly priced and value for money package,” he said.

“It’s pleasing to see that despite these uncertain times an increasing number of Australian new car buyers are crossing over to Zoom-Zoom.”

Hyundai Achieves Highest Ever August Sales

Hyundai’s Dealer network continues to set records for the Hyundai brand in Australia, selling 5,980 vehicles in August and achieving a market share of 8.2%, Hyundai’s best ever August result.

In a total market that has decreased 14.2% (August YTD 2009 v. August YTD 2008), Hyundai remains the only top ten brand to post a sales increase, posting eight consecutive months of year-on-year growth and an overall increase of sales of 32.5%YTD.

Other highlights include:

• For the second consecutive month, Hyundai ranked 4th overall in terms of total monthly sales.
• Hyundai’s YTD result for August YTD of 42,141 units (7.0% share) represents a 32.5% volume increase over its result of 31,810 units over the same period in 2008.
• Hyundai’s result in August of 5,980 units (8.2% share) represents a 64.6% volume increase over its achievement of 3,634 units (4.7%) in August 2008.
• Getz ranked first in the light car segment in August achieving 1,868 vehicle sales and a 19.9% market share of the light car segment – this achievement makes Getz the best selling light car with 13,541 units sold so far (August YTD 2009).
• iLoad ranked second in the van segment after posting a sales result of 348 units, consolidating its second position YTD and achieving a market share of 17.1%.
• Tucson ranked second in the compact SUV segment after posting a sales result of 1,024 units.
• iMax ranked third in the people mover segment after posting a sales result of 98 units.
• With 2,105 sales, the i30 range achieved its third consecutive month of more than 2,000 sales to be ranked fourth in the small car segment, maintaining third position YTD.

Around the world, Hyundai continues to attract new buyers to the brand. The Hyundai operations in the U.S., China and India all sold more vehicles in August than in any previous month on record.

“The results for August have confirmed that the Hyundai brand is one of the key players within the Australian automotive industry and underscore the perception that the Hyundai brand has changed,” said Kevin McCann, Hyundai’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “More and more consumers are recognising that by choosing to buy a car from a Hyundai Dealer, they are ensuring they get outstanding quality and value packaged in award-winning products.”