Vehicle sales bounce back

Sales of new cars and trucks in Australia rose five per cent in October, as the industry bounced back from a mid-year slump

In its VFACTS sales bulletin, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said 79,930 vehicles were sold last month compared to 76,118 in October last year.

The result took total sales for the year to 802,306, 2.8 per cent below the year-to-date figure at the same time in 2005.

But FCAI chief executive Peter Sturrock said confidence was rising and the industry expected to post strong sales in November and December.

"The October result suggests that the motor vehicle market may be pulling out of the slight decline of results in recent months and tallies with our prediction of a stronger fourth quarter following important new model releases," Mr Sturrock said.

"The large car segment is starting to feel the positive effect of the new Holden Commodore and the industry looks forward to the segment receiving a further boost this month when the new Toyota Aurion goes on sale.

"A rise of 11.3 per cent in sports utility vehicle (SUV) sales last month also suggests that some consumers may have set aside their concerns about the petrol price spike that occurred over winter."

The FCAI said its full-year sales forecast remained stable at 970,000 about 15,000 below last year's record result.

But it said sales and marketing efforts by car companies would be intense from now until Christmas.

"Last week's opening of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney began an intense period of sales and marketing activity running up to Christmas and we believe that November and December sales will be strong," Mr Sturrock said.

Toyota was the top selling company with 18,589 vehicles in October, well ahead of Holden on 12,779 and Ford on 8691.

Year-to-date Toyota was also showing its rivals no mercy with 175,953 vehicles compared to 122,144 for Holden, the margin ensuring the Melbourne-based manufacturer of market leadership in 2006.

The Holden Commodore was the top selling car last month with 5455 retailed, well ahead of the 4906 sold in the same month last year.

After initial concerns the new VE model was not proving as popular with buyers as the company would have liked, Holden said the car had its best monthly result for 2006.

Other top selling vehicles included the Toyota Corolla (3722), Toyota Camry (3205), Ford Falcon (2945), Toyota Yaris (2858), Mazda 3 (2585), Hyundai Getz (1594), Ford Focus (1584), Holden Astra (1575) and the Toyota HiLux 4x4 (1457).

Source: AAP 2006