While new car sales in August dropped by a whopping 10.1 percent compared to 2018, dual-cab pick-ups continued to dominate sales.
Both the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger dominated new car sales in August, selling 3674 and 3181 vehicles, respectively. Toyota Corolla finished the month in third place. However, based on 4×4 sales, Ford Ranger edged ahead of Toyota HiLux with just 13 vehicles separating them; 2884 and 2871 respectively.
According to the VFACTs figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the peak body for the automotive industry, new car sales in August fell by 10.1 percent compared to the same month in 2018; total sales for the month were 85,633 units.
Each segment of the market recorded a downturn, with passenger vehicles dropping 16.7 percent with 25,783 sales, SUVs down 5.4 percent with 39,040 sales and light commercial vehicles down 8.6 percent with 17,513 sales.
Announcing the results today, Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, noted the August results mark the seventeenth consecutive month of declining sales.
“There’s no doubt it is a very tough market at the moment,” Mr Weber said, “And despite the best efforts of the industry, the decrease in sales continues.”
“It is well known that Australia is one of the most competitive markets in the world, and with the current economic environment, it is also one of the most difficult markets in the world.”
“This environment stems from a slow start to the year, with tight financial lending, State and Federal elections and a general lack of consumer confidence, both here in Australia and on an international basis,” Weber said.
Toyota remained the top selling marque for the month with 16,700 sales for 19.5 percent market share, followed by Hyundai (7320 sales for 8.5 percent market share) and Mazda (7291 sales for 8.5 percent market share), Mitsubishi (6242 sales for 7.3 percent market share) and Ford (4916 sales for 5.7 percent market share).
