Record December for Australian new car registrations
 10th
January 2010
The Australian car sales market ended 2009 strongly with a record result in
December. Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive
Industries (FCAI) shows that 937,328 passenger cars, SUV's and commercial
vehicles were sold in 2009, down 74,836 units or 7.4 percent compared to
2008.
The FCAI are forecasting sales to exceed 940,000 in 2010. The
industry will benefit from tariff reductions on many imported passengers
vehicles. Many manufacturers are passing on the savings however some are
choosing to up-spec the effected vehicles to attract buyers. Vehicles
manufactured in Thailand and the USA do not benefit from tariff reductions
as they were already benefiting from free trade agreements.
The
increased sales forecast is despite the loss of federal government tax
incentives which ended on 31 December and the ever present danger of rising
interest rates.
The Holden Commodore retained the title of the
highest selling car for the 14th straight year. Toyota took second and third
with Corolla and HiLux respectively.
Toyota ended 2009 with the
highest market share, it's seventh consecutive year on top with sales of
200,991 and market share of 21.4%.
Of the top 20 name plates by
sales in Australia, only Hyundai, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Audi managed
to increase sales units in 2009. Hyundai sales surged 39% year-on-year with
buyers continuing to show an appetite for value. The i30 increased volume by
109.9% versus 2008 with sales of 21,400 and the Tuscon also contributed to
the growth by increasing sales by 85.7% to 11,405 units.
Volkswagen's continued growth has cemented its place in the top ten. This
was supported by the timely introduction of the new model Golf, the success
of the Tiguan compact SUV and sales growth of the Caravelle. Volkswagen is
looking to the new Polo, Golf wagon together with a full year of new Golf
product to continue its success.
It's hard to believe there has been
economic uncertainty with both Mercedes-Benz and Audi selling more units
than a year ago. Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed success with the C-class and
recently released all new E-class. Audi has continued to chase BMW and
Mercedes-Benz in the race for volume leader of the luxury marques with the
continued introduction of new models to Australia including the successful
launch of the Q5 SUV early in 2009.
Skoda, Isuzu Ute and Great Wall
all had record years in Australia but have not yet had two full years to
compare.
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