Despite unstable petrol prices Australians are still treating themselves to high-performance V8 sedans – and outpacing the new-car market.
Sales of Ford Performance Vehicles' new supercharged V8 are up by 62 per cent so far this year, while sales of Holden Special Vehicles are up by 12 per cent for the same period, figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show.
The first quarter results are in stark contrast to sales of the fleet sedans on which they are based: Falcon sales are down 39 per cent and Commodore sales are down 7 per cent when the first three months of this year are compared with the same period last year.
Both FPV and HSV have outperformed the rest of the $70,000+ luxury sedan market which is up by a little over 2 per cent – and HSV has sold almost three times as many vehicles as German sports-car maker Porsche.
FPV may have recorded the biggest percentage gain but in raw numbers the Ford performance brand has sold less than half HSV's tally.
FPV has sold 432 vehicles in the first three month of 2011 while HSV has sold 911 vehicles. Both figures include exports to New Zealand.
Indeed, the Kiwis have fallen for the fast Ford in a big way – sales of FPV vehicles are up 223 per cent (from 13 sales in the first three months of 2010 to 42 sales so far in 2011).
FPV general manager Rod Barrett told the Carsales Network: "Sales of large cars might be down but there is still a lot of passion out there for high performance sedans."
While FPV has had a respectable first quarter, sales of GT Falcons in March actually dipped compared with February.
"We had a delay in some parts out of the US, and the Broadmeadows slowdown affected us too," Barrett said. "But we have a solid order bank going forward and we would have a good month in April if it weren't for the Easter break and school holidays which typically slow new-car sales."
The announcement this week that the Reserve Bank has put a hold on further interest rate rises until later in the year is also welcome news to prestige car makers – and buyers.
The central bank announced yesterday it has left the official cash rate at 4.75 per cent.
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