Category: Suzuki

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New vehicle sales report – October 2010

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According to official VFACTS data things pretty much stood still last month in regards to new car sales. That is, sales rose by a tiny 0.1% (112 vehicles) compared to October 2009. Little surprise, then, that most manufacturers have kept quiet.

Although, FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar, tells us not to worry because last October was a ball tearer, “It needs to be acknowledged that sales this time last year were being boosted by the stimulus of the business tax break so it is encouraging to see that the market is maintaining that momentum.”

Toyota rules the roost, as usual, followed by Holden and the Ford–Mazda flip-flop for third has ended in Ford’s favour this month.

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AIMS 2010: Photo gallery

AIMS 2010

Here is the AUSmotive photo gallery from the Australian International Motor Show industry day. There are 128 photos in all and you can simply click on each thumbnail to access a 2000px super image.

Highlights include a couple of track specials in the form of the awesome Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the rear-engined V6 Renault Megane Trophy. Others to look out for are the Toyota FT-86G concept, the Ford Focus RS, a trio of Lamborghini Gallardos and the highly desirable Audi R8 V10 Spyder, which looks great in all white.

Dedicated articles on the following cars can be access by clicking on the links below:

A big thank you to Daniel McKenna who joined the AUSmotive crew at AIMS and brought you many of the pictures you see here.

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Holden Hyundai Kia Mazda Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – August 2010

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Official VFACTS data released by the FCAI states 82,122 new vehicles were sold in August, up 12.1% on the same month in 2009. Toyota, Holden and Ford retain the top-three positions on the sales charts.

Press releases from FCAI and various manufacturers are available after the break.

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Motorsports Suzuki

VIDEO: Monster Tajima climbs Pikes Peak

Monster Tajima

Falken Tyres have been kind enough to post video of Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima’s assault at the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Tajima was at the wheel of a Suzuki SX4 and the little pocket rocket you see above has a massive 910 horsepower.

Tajima made the most of all that power, too, by winning the event for the fifth time in succession. Check out the clip in full after the break and keep an eye out for the spectators and sacrificial cones.

[Thanks to Richard for the tip]

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Holden Hyundai Mazda Mercedes-Benz Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – July 2010

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Last month’s high of 108,722 new vehicle sales came crashing back to earth in July. A comparatively low figure of 82,376 sales were registered. However, this result represents an increase of 9.3% on July 2009 data, so it’s not all bad news.

Andrew McKellar, FCAI Chief Executive, explains July usually provides a slow start to the new financial year, “This is a very solid result for July with the start of the new financial year usually resulting in slower sales.

“These figures provide further evidence that sales to private customers continue to increase strongly – recording a 20 per cent rise compared to this time last year,” Mr McKellar said.

If we go back to the results from May we can see sales across all segments were up almost 20% on 2009 figures. Year-to-date numbers have now eased a little, but are still up 15.6% compared to last year, with a total of 613,544 sales so far in 2010.

The SUV segment continues to lead the charge, with light commercials and passengers cars behind. Toyota and Holden retain their positions at the head of the sales chart. While Ford hung on to its third placing by a single sale over Mazda.

More from the FCAI and manufacturers after the break.

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BMW Hyundai Mazda Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – May 2010

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A new sales record for the month of May was set this year. New vehicle sales totalled 89,218, and improvement of 578 sales from the previous May record set in 2008.

“This is a record May result and shows the new vehicle market is maintaining a strong sales momentum,” said FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar, “All vehicle segments increased during the month, demonstrating a genuine recovery in the marketplace.”

Once again the SUV segment was the leading category, followed by passenger cars and light commercials. There has also been an increase in private buyers taking delivery of new cars in the last month.

As usual Toyota sits atop the sales charts, followed by Holden and Ford. So far in 2010 a total of 422,446 new vehicles have been sold. A boost of almost 20% on 2009 figures.

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New vehicle sales report – March 2010

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March was another strong month for Australian vehicle sales. So much so that the 94,744 sales recorded represented a new monthly record for March, an increase of 352 sales over the previous high set in 2007. Compared to last month sales increased by 12,525 units.

While all vehicle segments fared well, the SUV sector continued its upward trend, increasing by 44%. Passenger car sales were up by more than 23%, while both the light and heavy commercial segments also posted healthy increases.

Toyota and Holden continue their reign as the country’s top two selling marques, with 21.4% and 12.4% market share respectively. Meanwhile, Ford fought back from last month’s drop recovering from fifth on the sales charts to finish ahead of Hyundai and Mazda in third place with 8.5% market share.

However, there was still good news for Hyundai as the i30 was the country’s best selling small car during March. The first time the i30 has achieved such a result.

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New vehicle sales report – January 2010

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January 2010 showed good signs for the automotive industry in Australia. While sales for the month did fall dramatically from December 2009 it is worth noting there were strong financial incentives, in the form of Federal Government tax breaks, that saw many businesses rushing to buy cars before the program ended on 31 December.

More importantly, the 74,864 new vehicle sales for January 2010 represents a healthy increase of 11.6% compared to the same month last year. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Andrew McKellar believes the new cut in import tariffs has helped kick the year off, “New car affordability is better than ever and has been further enhanced by the tariff cut on many imported vehicles,” he said.

“New car buyers have effectively been handed a ‘tax cut’ and many brands have moved quickly to reduce prices or increase vehicle specifications. As a result, it is expected that this will encourage private buyers to return to the marketplace in greater numbers throughout the year,” Mr McKellar said.

Toyota, Holden and Ford maintained recent tradition as the top three selling marques.

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Audi BMW Holden Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports Volkswagen Volvo

New vehicle sales report – December 2009

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According to official VFACTS figures released earlier today new vehicle sales in Australia for 2009 reached 937,328, an overall drop of 7.4% compared to 2008.

November’s cracking results showed the motor industry was well on the way to financial recovery and  December followed suit registering 88,708 sales. Which sets a new record for the month.

FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar acknowledged the role of the Federal Government’s tax incentives for businesses in returning better than expected yearly figures, “The final outcome for the year has surpassed the industry’s original expectations by some 57,000 vehicles and a significant proportion of this additional volume can be attributed to the tax break.”

Toyota (200,191), Holden (119,658) and Ford (96,501) were the top three selling marques. Toyota’s stranglehold on top spot looks very secure, despite the highest selling car in Australia for 2009 being the Holden Commodore (44,387). The Corolla (39,013) and HiLux (38,457) rounded out the top three selling models nationwide.

Other notable performers were Audi, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen. But it seems most manufacturers have a positive spin to sell and a raft of press releases to that affect follow this article.

Audi, intent on chasing BMW for the top selling prestige marque, concluded 2009 with their fifth year of growth. Impressively, the German brand bettered last year’s record by over 20% while recording 11,310 sales. A perfect end to the local career of Audi Australia’s managing director, Joerg Hofmann. The hard task master will be returning home to Germany at the end of this month—see carsales interview from December 2009.

Mitsubishi have put the corpse of the Magna well behind it, achieving best ever annual sales for the Lancer (21,362) and Triton (18,182).

Volkswagen improved on its 2008 record year by selling over 30,000 vehicles for the first time under the Volkswagen Group Australia banner.

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Should it be Volkzuki or Suzuwagen?

Volkzuki

Volkswagen and Suzuki have begun a bit of a love-in. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn probably explains it best, “Two of the world’s leading car makers are joining forces and preparing to meet the growing challenges that lie ahead. Together we can maximize our opportunities for growth. We are proud to be cooperating with such an esteemed and valued partner.”

In financial terms the partnership will see Volkswagen purchase 19.9% of Suzuki. In return, Suzuki will use up to half of the received funds to buy shares in Volkswagen. I’m sure that makes sense to greater financial minds than mine.

In production terms, well, nothing concrete is given away in the statement below, but expect the two companies to work together on producing cheap fuel efficient entry-level cars, with low CO2 emissions, for the developing world.

Two statements are available after the break, the first one from Suzuki, the second from Volkswagen.

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Audi BMW Hyundai Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – October 2009

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Good news for the car industry last month, with sales increasing for the first time since the middle of last year. Official VFACTS data shows sales were up 2.2 per cent last month when compared to October 2008.

“The industry is looking to round out the year on a positive note and we expect a further surge in sales as businesses move to take advantage of the successful tax break prior to the end of the year,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

However, the overall downward trend remains for year-to-date new vehicle sales, which are down 11.7 per cent compared to the same period last year (762,787 sales to date).

Toyota, Holden and Ford round out the usual top three placings for overall sales, but that hasn’t stopped a number of manufacturers from putting their spin on things. A bunch of press releases to that effect can be viewed after the jump.

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MIMS 2009 – Best of the rest

2009 Melbourne International Motor Show

Here is one last wrap up of images from the media day at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show.

There’s pics from Honda (Insight, Civic Type R), Hyundai (i10 Blue, i30 Blue, Genesis Coupé), Kia (Soul), Lotus (Europa SE), Suzuki (Alto), Toyota (fully sik RAV4, fully sik Yaris, Hybrid Camry) and a few other bits and pieces, including the AutoHorizon FR-1, a charity-based project helping young kids.

So, what was the media day like? I have to say I was a bit nervous attending with a room full of battle-hardened journos around me. However, it was not really an issue and it was pretty cool moving around from stand to stand with nobody looking at me funny when I went up to various cars and opened them up, taking photos or just generally pushing and prodding around. Certainly a bit different, and better, than attending the show as a member of the general public.

Personally, I didn’t make the most of the networking opportunities on offer. Something I’m usually not good at, so I guess I’ll need to work on that.

Overall, though, it was a fun and valuable learning experience. It’s interesting seeing how many different ways there are to pull a cover off a car. Or not! My flight time meant I missed the presentations from Ford, Holden and Toyota, so maybe I missed a few new and innovative sheet pulling techniques!

Full marks to the catering, too, the Asian style lunch provided was very tasty, and after a few hours following Glenn Ridge around from presentation to presentation I was pretty damn hungry.

It was a long day, getting up at 4:30am to catch a plane from Canberra to Melbourne and not getting back to the hotel until 5pm. Before turning around and going back to the show as a casual observer with my wife.

I hope the coverage on AUSmotive has been interesting for all the readers out there and the audio clips provided on a few of the posts have brought you a bit closer to the action.

See you in Sydney in October 2010!

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