my19 kia cerato hatch  2a x9ts
Carsales Staff3 Apr 2020
NEWS

VFACTS March: Market slumps 18 per cent

New-vehicle sales down across all segments and states – but not all brands

Official VFACTS new-vehicle sales figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show the Australian market was down 17.9 per cent in March.

With the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic impacting consumers and businesses from mid-month, the new-car market is now 13.1 per cent down compared to the first quarter of 2019 and the industry is bracing for more pain in April.

Significant sales declines were posted by most brands last month. However, there were brands that lifted their sales in March, including market leader Toyota (+1.6%), Holden (+30.2%), Kia (+6.6%) and Subaru (+0.2%), plus low-volume brands such as Haval (+131.5%), MG (+75.5%) and Great Wall (+67.7%).

The passenger cars segment experienced the biggest sales decline (down 24.9%), followed by light commercials (-15.5%) and SUVs (-14.2%). Large cars (-55.4%) were the most impacted and small cars (-16.6%) the least. While large SUVs were down almost a quarter, light SUVs actually proved more popular YOY (up 25.6%).

All states except the ACT (up 77%) were down, with the NT (-33.5%) the worst affected, followed by SA (-27.9%), Victoria (-21.3%), Tasmania (-21.2%), Queensland (-20.2%), NSW (-16.4%) and WA (-14.4%).

Tags

Car News
Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®
Scan to download the carsales app
    DownloadAppCta
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    Want more info? Here’s our app landing page App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © carsales.com.au Pty Ltd 1999-2025
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.