Big results in spotlight but look out for the quiet achievers

Words - Otto Insider

Comment

"He who gives up, is lost..." Let me save you hours of fruitless consultation of almanacs and anthologies of the wise and worldly, not to mention a bandwidth-rich scroll through Google.

The above was not a musing of Aristotle, a gem from Plato or even an off-the-cuff remark by Ogilvy, Mather or Saatchi. It is an observation based on recent car advertising blitzes and their motivations.

As you'll see below, of the big movers, Ford is the only big-spending advertiser to lag 2006 sales year-to-date (YTD). Let's hope it does find the key to unlock some sales soon.

The offers detailed below have been running in May and June, designed to maintain sales momentum… And they're working. Interestingly, only one of the top ten brands is eschewing this overt price-driven policy.

So, spotted the top ten brand who's not awash with discounts and freebies? Volkswagen sales are up 46.8 percent YTD, so it doesn't need blitzkrieg ad campaigns. Presumably its good stock control and locked-in forward orders  allow it to focus on brand building marketing.

We're on track for one million new car sales -- officially. It's good news for the industry and great news for used car buyers, though maybe not such great news for used car trade-in values.

Toyota lived up to its ad slogan. It did mean business -- taking business away from you-know-whom. Indeed, the Big T sailed close to the magic monthly high tide mark of 20,000, its 19,371 tally ably assisted by Corolla, which is inching towards becoming Australia's best selling car.

The underlying message of the month is that the Australian economy is pumping. There's so much money sloshing around that more folk than ever are treating themselves to a new car. Business and government have made it more affordable than ever thanks to novated leases and tax incentives and the growth of the self-employed sector, much of which has been to the detriment of sales of locally-made cars.

Even with fuel prices (and thus running costs) at sky-high all time records, punters can't resist sinking their cash into a shiny new motor.

And good for them because in most cases what they're buying is safer, cleaner, better equipped and probably more frugal than the car they're replacing. And the trickle down effect is that older smokers are being driven off the roads. A double-whammy from an environmental point of view… A double-whammy for the locally-made rear-drive big-sizes as well!

Toyota's success has partly comes as a result of downturns in the fortunes of Ford and Holden. Together with a somewhat resurgent Mitsubishi, the local four still account for 53.3% of the total market, the top ten selling brands eat up 83.9 per cent of the market.

The herd mentality means that the remaining 32 car brands strive to survive on 13 per cent of the total market (heavy trucks account for the remainder). That's a lot of niche product.

Interestingly, the top ten have their share of quiet achievers. You'd expect the big luxury brands to pop up a few volume surprises, but mainstream brands are being successful at spreading their appeal over many segments.

Perhaps as our affluence and international influences increasingly shape our view, the Aussie rear-wheel drive big-six no longer fits our aspirations for Dad's family car.

Volkswagen has a hit on its hands with Passat. The new car is up 295 per cent YTD with 1434 sales in the Medium market, while Honda's US-styled Accord at 3363 sales YTD is up 75 per cent --not bad for post mid-life facelift, and only 20 units shy of the sporty and svelte Accord Euro.

Accord Yankee (built in Thailand) and Passat perfectly fit the mould of the Generation X family car -- prestige without pose, engineering excellence and sharp pricing. And most importantly, enough brand cred for the office carpark, though not too much to put the neighbours' noses out of joint. Still sure you want that Aussie six?

Similarly, Holden's answer to limousine hire companies' search for more space and luxury at an affordable price, the Caprice, has sold more than 1000 units YTD, up 375 per cent, (Ford LTD sales in the same period: 11).

The quietest achiever award for the industry goes to a small car segment player, a Toyota, but not the one you'd think. Prius, the happy hybrid, has seen sales rocket 113 per cent to 1333 YTD -- reflecting a distinct shift in some government and business sectors towards more ecologically-aware transportation.

Non-private market hybrid passenger sales are twice those of the private market, reflecting ongoing fears over resale value by Mr and Mrs Green.

Now a brain-teaser. What do the Alfa Romeo 159, Chrysler 300C, Jaguar X-Type, Land Rover Discovery, Peugeot 307 and Lexus IS 250 all have in common? Each accounts for around 50 per cent or more of their total brand's sales. Swift collars a full 65 per cent of Suzuki's brand sales (07 YTD).

It's great to have a strong selling mainstay of course… While they're selling.

But one brand has deliberately, and successfully, shaken off that particular albatross. And its one we've already mentioned above. In the Federal Republic of Wolfsburg, there'll be some joy that Volkswagen sold 2500 cars in Australia this month, and that 1100 of them were Golfs. In the past VW sales were dominated by Golf, but with strong results from Passat, Jetta and the commercial range, Golf is now merely the spearhead.

Not so long ago, for the big Aussie four-pack to achieve a four-figure result for a month's sales of Laser, Corolla, Lancer or Astra would have meant champagne all round. Golf isn't new, or in the first blush of youth either, so May's result is all the more remarkable, as is the 4576 sold YTD 07.

Conversely, Nissan would have been charmed to secure a four-figure result for Tiida, but Golf vanquished even the cut-price $17,990 car!

With diesel and petrol Golfs on fire, what better time to experiment with a new derivative? Willkommen the twincharger GT.

As every red-blooded Aussie bloke knows, there's no substitute for cubic inches (6.0-litre Holdens, anyone?), so the medium-hot new Golf GT with its supercharger and turbocharger will be subject to some inquisitive glances. Probe deeper than the headline 125kW motor with 240Nm of torque and you'll find that's produced by just 1.4-litres. Pardon?

If some of Golf's success stems from carving a prestige niche in the frenzied small car segment, the TSI (to give it its proper nomenclature) adds a more affordable sporty model with respectable performance, low emissions and sub-8sec 0-100km/h acceleration. Fuel use is just 7.7lt per 100km and a tailpipe CO2 emissions are 184g/km. Go figure how Focus Zetec, Mazda3 SP23 and Holden Astra SRi will reply.

This could be the year of the quiet achiever, in more ways than one...

To comment on this story click here.