VFACTS for April: Hyundai jumps, Mitsubishi falls

Hyundai was the big winner in April, but it headed a very short list of car companies that enjoyed sales growth during the month. The South Korean brand moved from sixth to fifth in the overall sales chart with growth of 12.2 per cent year-to-date.

But Hyundai's gain came at the expense of Mitsubishi, the three-diamonds brand dropping from fifth to seventh as sales plummeted 37.2 per cent for the month. Despite dropping 24.5 per cent over the previous April, Nissan was able to hold onto sixth place.

Toyota continues to lead the sales chart despite tracking 29.3 per cent down year-to-date and dropping 37.5 per cent over April 2008. Holden held onto second spot ahead of Ford and Mazda.

Despite at least one media outlet predicting doom for Toyota's local manufacturing operation, following the release of the VFACTS figures for April -- the locally-built Camry and Aurion models between them selling just 1987 units -- the company itself contends that sales should improve from next month.

"The year-on-year comparison for Toyota is misleading because our sales figures in the same period last year were artificially high," says David Buttner, Toyota's senior executive director sales and marketing.

"We expect a pick-up in sales for May and June, followed by a market that will be stronger in the second half of the year than in the first six months."

All up in April, 63,965 new vehicles were sold, representing a loss of 20,096 units over last April, but the Easter break meant there were two less selling days in 2009 compared with the same month in 2008.

Comparing April to March 2009 showed a drop of 15.4 per cent (11,685 vehicles), but adjustment for seasonal changes means April was up 1.7 per cent on the previous month.

Although the market overall is down 20.3 per cent over the same period last year, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) remains confident that the market will soon steady.

"While the figures confirm that market conditions remain soft, the extent of the fall has been compounded by the timing of the Easter holidays," says FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar.

"After adjusting for seasonal factors, sales in April appear to be broadly consistent with results of recent months and we remain hopeful that conditions will soon stabilise.

With the market remaining consistent, albeit down, McKellar believes that consumer interest is being increased because the car companies are making necessary adjustments. Discounting offers and Federal Government tax breaks on new cars are playing an important role, according to the FCAI boss.

"There are signs of increased buyer interest in and awareness of the incentive programme, which certainly underpins the need for speedy passage of the legislation," McKellar says.

The only brands other than Hyundai to enjoy sales growth were Alfa Romeo, Audi, Dodge, Fiat, Jaguar and Skoda. Hyundai can put a large part of its success down to the continued popularity of the i30 range, which recently added a wagon variant. Sales of the i30 were up 50 per cent on the same month last year.

The top ten sellers for the month were:

Holden Commodore 3177
Toyota HiLux 2632
Mazda3 2503
Toyota Corolla 2385
Ford Falcon 2228
Hyundai i30 1491
Nissan Navara 1451
Toyota Yaris 1395
Hyundai Getz 1307
Subaru Forester 1239

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi