Market slips in March

VFACTS figures released today show that the Australian new car market tailed off in March, but the FCAI expects a resurrection next month.

Additional public holidays in March reduced the retail selling opportunity sufficiently to denude the new car market of 3107 vehicles, comparing the March figure of 91,285 units with the March 2007 figure of 94,392 units sold.

If not for Easter, there would have been approximately 26 selling days for the month, not the 23.6 retail days that presented themselves in between time spent scoffing hot-cross buns and Easter eggs, or attending Church.

According to the FCAI, the average selling rate per retail working day actually increased by 314 vehicles, which would have translated to an improved result for March, in a year-on-year (YOY) comparison with March 2007. So, the FCAI reckons that increased interest rates and continuing high petrol prices are not influencing vehicle sales yet.

Despite the reduced selling days for March, more SUVs (other than in the compact SUV segment) and more light commercials (excepting the pick-up/cab-chassis 4x4 segment) were sold for the month than in March 2007. Only the passenger car class showed a marked reduction in total sales for the month, YOY.

Even perennial class leaders such as the Holden Commodore (3988 vs. 5752) and Toyota Corolla (3968 vs. 4029) showed a YOY decline. The Commodore's result also reflects the dwindling interest in large cars, although the Toyota Aurion bucked both the trend and the Easter sales hiatus (2235 vs. 2037).

With Easter 2007 having occurred in April, there'll be more selling days next month, so expect sales to make a major jump, compared YOY with April 2007.

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