VFACTS for December: Final flourish boosts new car sales for '09
Market defies initial outlook to stay strong thanks to incentives and economic recoveryA record sales rush in December has helped give new car sales in Australia a major boost, defying glooming predictions at the start of 2009. Buyers looking to take advantage of the government tax breaks lifted December sales figures to 88,708 to smash the previous record for the month from 2007.
The news is a major lift for the local automotive industry with the new car market weathering the global financial crisis much better than expected.
The final sales figures for 2009 were released this morning and show the market was down 7.4 per cent on 2008, a far better result than the 20% predicted by some industry insiders at the height of the financial crisis.
According to the VFACTS figures compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) 937,328 new vehicles were sold in 2009, only 74,836 units down on 2008; which in turn was down 3.6% down on 2007.
FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar was understandably pleased with the result which was 50,000 more than the automotive body predicted at the start of the year. He said the market was helped by government incentives for business buyers but still had to overcome the problematic economy.
"Given all the challenges that have been thrown at us by the global economy the result is fantastic," McKellar told the Carsales Network.
"One factor that has played a significant role is the business tax breaks... It has played a very big part. Obviously there will be some carry over into 2010 with cars ordered late last year being delivered."
As predicted by the Carsales Network earlier this week Toyota remained the best selling brand in the country. The Japanese giant recorded 200,991 sales to stay on top but, disappointingly for the company, the figure was down 15.9% on 2008.
It scored three of the top selling models with the Corolla, HiLux and Camry all inside the top 10 vehicles for the year. But Toyota couldn't pip the Holden Commodore as the number one selling model, leaving the locally built large car with the title it first earned in 1996.
"It's been a tough year so we're rapt Commodore has come out on top again," said John Elsworth, Holden's Executive Director of Sales and Marketing.
But as we reported earlier it wasn't all positive news for Holden with Commodore recording one of its worst sales results. Overall Holden was down 8.3% on its 2008 sales despite the successful launch of the Cruze small car.
Arch-rivals Ford didn't fare much better with sales down 7.8% for the year. The Falcon could only manage to reach fifth place on the sales charts, behind the Commodore, Toyota Corolla and HiLux and Mazda3.
The big winner for the year was Hyundai, which recorded growth of 39.2% thanks to the success of the i30 (21,414), Getz (19,643) and Tuscon (11,405).
Other brands recording significant growth in 2009 included Audi (20.2%), Smart (15.8%), Jaguar (13.5%) and Volvo (4.5%).
Not surprisingly Saab and Hummer both took big sales hits, recording sales drops of 42.7% and 60.2% respectively.
Chrysler Group also struggled amid all the negative publicity of its US parent company. The Chrysler brand was down 26.4% and Jeep was down 19.9% but Dodge managed to record a sales increase of 4.7%; albeit from a low base.
It wasn't a good year the French brands with Citroen down 40.7%, Renault down 24.8% and Peugeot 20.8%.
Looking ahead to 2010 McKellar said the FCAI is predicting around 940,000 new vehicles.
"The tariff cut will help to add a little competitive impetus to the market," he said.
But he admitted the recent decision by most leading banks to increase interest rates more than the official Reserve Bank rate could unsettle the market.
"The one note of caution we are sounding is the interest rate rises... I don't think the full impact of these interest rates have been reflected yet," he said.
Top brands for 2009
1. Toyota -- 200,991
2. Holden -- 119,568
3. Ford -- 96,501
4. Mazda -- 77,739
5. Hyundai -- 63,207
6. Mitsubishi -- 56,998
7. Nissan -- 52,901
8. Honda -- 41,443
9. Subaru -- 36,506
10. Volkswagen -- 30,087
Top models for 2009
1. Holden Commodore -- 44,387
2. Toyota Corolla -- 39,013
3. Toyota HiLux -- 38,457
4. Mazda3 -- 35,298
5. Ford Falcon -- 31,023
6. Hyundai i30 -- 21,414
7. Mitsubishi Lancer -- 21,362
8. Toyota Camry -- 20,846
9. Hyundai Getz -- 19,643
10. Nissan Navara 18,293
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