VFACTS for August: HiLux confounds the critics

New-car sales bounced 6.2 per cent last month, to achieve a total of 93,552 vehicles sold, according to industry statistician VFACTS. The total market of 728,047 for the year so far is 9.4 per cent of the first eight months of 2011.

Last month, passenger cars (46,612) sold 1811 units fewer than in August 2011, a 3.7 per cent decline for the month – but SUVs (26,216) and light commercials (18,045) both showed signs of improvement; an 18.6 per cent gain for SUVs and 19.1 per cent for the LCVs.

And it's Toyota that's leading the charge. Of those additional vehicles sold for the year to date (62,738 across all segments), Toyota contributed 27,818 of those – around about 44 per cent. What's different this year is that all Toyota's factories are open for business and running full bore to make up for the sales lost after last year's natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.

The company's HiLux pick-up – one of the cars the company builds in Thailand – has sold 27,585 units so far this year. That's just 573 vehicles away from overtaking the Mazda3 as Australia's most popular car. What's truly remarkable is that the HiLux dates back to 2006 and has been joined in the pick-up and cab/chassis segments (4x2 and 4x4) by much more modern designs, such as the Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50 and Volkswagen Amarok.

Yet there's no sign of slowing sales pace from the HiLux, which sold 4010 vehicles last month, nearly double second-placed Nissan Navara (2017) – and the only vehicle that sold more than 4000 units during August.

"The popularity of HiLux is a testament to its unbreakable reputation and also a market shift to what you might describe as dual-role vehicles – those that serve motorist's needs both at work and at play," said Matthew Callachor, Toyota Australia's executive director of sales and marketing. Toyota has sold 141,811 vehicles of all kinds for the first eight months of this year, an increase of 24.4 per cent from the same period last year. However, a better comparison is with the year before. In 2010, without the production stoppages that followed the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the floods in Thailand, Toyota Australia sold 141,353 vehicles during the first eight months. In effect the company is back to where it was, and slightly ahead.

Despite the HiLux closing in on its top-selling small car, Mazda remained pleased with its sales performance during August.

“August’s sales result really demonstrates the appeal of the whole Mazda range and it’s pleasing to see that we continue to meet the needs of our customers,” said the importer's MD, Doug Dickson.  “However, we’re careful not to rest on our laurels. Further product developments, including the arrival of the All-New Mazda6, will help ensure we continue to deliver the stylish, insightful and spirited products that the market wants.”

Mazda3 remains the biggest-selling small car, with 2990 sales for the month, but Toyota's enduring Corolla was just 45 units behind for the month and just 3202 behind for the year to date. But if the small car battle is hotting up for Mazda, the importer is putting miles between it and the nearest competitor in the medium SUV segment. CX-5 sold 1679 vehicles last month and, at 9719 units sold for the year to date, has overtaken the RAV4 (9699) and is barely a thousand sales behind the segment champion, Nissan's X-TRAIL (10,735) – with four more selling months before the year is out.

In the large SUV segment, Holden's Captiva (1497), outsold its nearest competitor, the Ford Territory (1357). Both cars outsold the Toyota Prado (1300), but roles are reversed in the segment's year to date sales tally. Prado is the most popular (12,035), followed by Territory (10,136) and Captiva 7 (7550). Commenting on the Captiva 7's sudden surge in August, Philip Brook, Holden Director of Sales, noted a low-interest finance incentive to buy was the likely catalyst.

“Captiva continues to be a winner for us and we’re pleased to see it excel in the highly competitive and fast-moving SUV market,” he said.

“Last month, we responded to an increasingly competitive market with a 0.5 per cent finance offer on a range of Holden vehicles, which was a great success with customers.”

Top selling brands for the year to date are: Toyota (141,811), Holden (76,390), Mazda (67,769), Hyundai (60,645), Ford (58,128), Nissan (52,521), Mitsubishi (38,642), Volkswagen (35,274), Subaru (27,568), Honda (22,864). Only Holden, Ford and Mitsubishi have posted lower results than the same time last year, among the companies in the top 10. Honda may have pulled out of its nose dive, with sales heading in an upward direction.

The best selling cars during the month of August were: Toyota Hilux (4010),  Mazda3 (2990),  Toyota Corolla (2945),  Holden Cruze (2628),  Holden Commodore (2435),  Toyota Camry (2130),  Hyundai i30 (2125),  Nissan Navara (2017),  Mazda CX-5 (1679),  Ford Ranger (1629).

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...