June VFACTS: HiLux soars, VW slumps in record month

Toyota was the big winner in Australia’s new-vehicle sales race with almost 5000 HiLux utes sold in a booming final month of the 2012/13 financial year, according to official VFACTS figures released late today.

That helped the Japanese giant extend its 2013 calendar year sales lead over Mazda, which also posted new six-month (52,287 sales) and financial-year (104,040 sales) records to June 30, in a market that looks set to surpass the magic million mark for a fourth consecutive year.

In stark contrast, Volkswagen sales slumped by 19 per cent in June – the same month the overall market grew by 5.5 per cent and in which VW recalled almost 26,000 Golf, Jetta, Polo, Passat and Caddy models with a dual-clutch DSG transmission built between June 2008 and September 2011.

However, while demand for the volume-selling Tiguan, (new) Golf and Jetta declined by 49, 56 and 59 per cent respectively, sales of the Touareg, Polo and Amarok 4x4 soared by a respective 38, 73 and 129 per cent and VW sales remain 2.6 per cent up in the first six months of 2013, against a market that is up by 4.7 per cent.

The HiLux (4931 sales) was again Australia’s best-selling car in June, followed by the Toyota Corolla (4196) and the nation’s most popular vehicle last year, the Mazda3 (3672), which narrowly edged out the Hyundai i30 (3664), while Mitsubishi’s Triton was fifth with 3456 sales.

However, when 934 sales of the Elantra sedan are combined, Hyundai sold a total of 4598 small cars last month, out-performing both the Corolla and Mazda3, but not the all-conquering HiLux.

The Corolla remains the nation’s top-selling vehicle at the halfway mark of 2013, however, with 20,970 sales (up 10 per cent) leading the same brand’s HiLux (20,721 – 4x4 also up 10 per cent), the Mazda3 (20,077 – down eight per cent) and 19,333 combined i30/Elantra sales.

Mazda Australia Managing Director Martin Benders said a new $19,990 base drive-away price from July 1 will help lift the fortunes of his company’s volume-selling Mazda3 in the second half of this year.

“Although very pleased with the records set in the first half of 2013, we believe further opportunities lie ahead for Mazda,” he said.

“Our professional dealer network is well geared to capitalise on these opportunities in the second half of the year as we prepare for arguably our most important launch ever, the all-new Mazda3 in early 2014.”

While Toyota (106,110 sales YTD – up 0.1 per cent) and Mazda (52,287 – up 0.3 per cent) soared , Holden sales fell 1.4 per cent in June to be 8.3 per cent down YTD (51,547), after Commodore sales decreased 22 per cent in the new VF’s first month on sale. Commodore sales remain down more than 35 per cent so far this year.

Hyundai remains fourth with 47,979 sales (up 5.9 per cent) after being up 2.5 per cent in June, while Nissan (44,504 – up 10.5 per cent) was up 10 per cent in June to stay ahead of sixth-placed Ford (44,065 – up 2.5 per cent).

Ford was up six per cent in June, but Falcon sales remain more than 25 per cent down YTD. Toyota’s Camry was again the best-selling Australian-made car in June.

Mitsubishi (up a huge 42.5 per cent in June, its best month ever as a full-line importer, to be up 20 per cent YTD), Volkswagen, Honda (up 22 per cent in June and 45 per cent YTD) and Subaru (static in June, down 2.4 per cent YTD) round out the top 10 makes in the first half of 2013 – a year in which more sales records look set to be broken.

Toyota Australia Executive Director Sales and Marketing Tony Cramb said strong competition, the highest levels of affordability in decades, low interest rates and a relatively strong economy are all pointing to a full-year year total of at least 1.1 million sales.

“We are potentially heading for another all-time record and the fourth consecutive year above the magic million,” he said.

“The July-December half is traditionally stronger for Toyota, providing confidence we will achieve our 11th consecutive year of market leadership with well over 200,000 sales.”

Representing a 5.5 per cent month-on-month sales increase, Australians bought 118,758 vehicles in June – more than any month on record – bringing the half-yearly sales figure to another record of 573,711 vehicles.

In another record, during the financial year ended last Sunday no fewer than 1,137,889 new vehicles were purchased -- a new record for any calendar or financial year.

The 12-month total was almost 26,000 ahead of the previous record of 1.11 million set in calendar 2012 and more than 77,000 ahead of the previous best financial year (1.06 million sales in 2011-12).

In other June highlights, Alfa Romeo was up 29 per cent in June to be up 52 per cent YTD thanks mainly to its smallest MiTo and repositioned Giulietta models. Similarly, more than 182 sales of the 500 in June sees Fiat’s YTD tally up almost 150 per cent.

Audi set a new all-time monthly record of 1505 sales in June, to be up by 17.3 per cent YTD and confident of selling 15,500 vehicles this year, including additional A3 Sportback variants, plus the new RS 6 Avant, RS 5 Cabriolet and S3 Sportback.

BMW was up 8.4 per cent in June to be 12.9 per cent up YTS, following strong sales of its new 3 Series, while Mercedes-Benz sales were up 40 per cent in June and now lie more than 25 per cent up YTD, thanks to healthy B- and C-Class sales.

Jaguar was also up 30 per cent in June to be 25 per cent ahead YTD, while Jeep sales spiked 27 per cent in June to be 20 per cent up YTD.

Porsche sales were up 12 per cent last month to sit 30 per cent up YTD, while Renault was up the same percentage in June to be 44 per cent higher so far in 2013.

Contrasting this, Lexus sales were off 14 per cent following slower sales of all models but the CT200h and IS350. Lexus sales are now down 0.5 per cent YTD.

Other brands suffering in a boom market at the halfway point of this year include Chery (down 31 per cent), Citroen and Great Wall (both down 34 per cent), Kia (down 3.4 per cent), Skoda (down 7.1 per cent), Ssangyong (down 23 per cent), Suzuki (down 3.0 per cent) and Volvo (down 9.4 per cent).

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