2004: Aussies buy new cars in record numbers

According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) more than 955,000 vehicles were sold in 2004, beating the previous record set in 2003 by over 45,000. The FCAI says the result shows Australia's automotive industry has grown significantly -- by nearly 200,000 sales -- in three years and that another record should be achievable this year, expecting sales to top 980,000.

"The much improved value-for-money most vehicles now represent has attracted larger numbers of people to the new car market in recent years," said Peter Sturrock, chief executive of the FCAI. "A million vehicles a year is still a challenging goal but it could conceivably be achieved."

Toyota led the sales charge again in 2004 ahead of Holden (178,027) and Ford (135,172). Nissan, with 63,654, emerged ahead of Mitsubishi on 56,967 while Hyundai's sales (42,510) increased by nearly 40 per cent in 2004. The other big mover in 2004 was Kia which managed a place in the top 10 for the first time. Toyota's Echo, Corolla, Camry and Kluger models all topped their segments, helping to amass over 201,730 vehicle sales in 2004. Toyota's sales quota for last year was the first time a local manufacturer has managed to top the 200,000 mark.

Holden's Commodore remains Australia's favourite car, topping sales of all vehicles for the ninth consecutive year. The company also made gains in the light truck segment with sales of its Commodore ute range and Rodeo earning Holden nearly a third of the segment share.

Sales performance in the SUV market continues to flourish, most likely at the expense of the large car market. More would-be Commodore, Falcon and Avalon owners are choosing medium-sized SUVs but Holden (with Adventra), Ford (with Territory) and Toyota (with Kluger) aren't likely to suffer as all three manufacturers have new entries in the segment. In fact, Ford's Territory attracted nearly 14,000 sales in only eight months, and Toyota says the Kluger is not "cannibalising sales" of its other 4WD or large car models.

The small and medium car markets belonged to Toyota in 2004. Echo and Corolla accounted for over 20 per cent of the light and small car segments, while four-cylinder Camry took over half of all sales in the medium segment. The luxury segment laurels went to Mercedes-Benz which amassed over 600 more sales than rival manufacturer BMW. Mercedes-Benz sold 11,489 passenger cars and 1226 4WDs. The second-generation SLK found 450-plus homes last year -- an increase in sales for the roadster by 140 per cent -- while the expanded E-Class range increased model movement by 70 per cent. The company expects the arrival of the new M-Class this year will also bolster its SUV sales.

The expected downturn in sales for the month of December in light of new tariff rates did not eventuate: rather, industry standard VFACTS reported an increase in sales for December 2004. Last year 78,980 vehicles were sold in December -- a new record for the month -- compared to 77,786 for the same time in 2003.