Holden has finished 2005 with Australia’s best selling car for the 10th consecutive year, the most popular passenger car range and most popular light truck range.

Holden Commodore continued an unbroken record since 1996 as Australia’s most popular car and Holden vehicles again filled four of the top 10 selling nameplates including Astra, Rodeo and Ute.

Holden also rode on the success of its “Year of the Small Car” strategy, with Astra achieving its best ever sales to secure the title of Australia’s best-selling European sourced car.

Figures released last week by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries showed Holden sold 174,464 vehicles in 2005, a 2.0% reduction from its highest ever result of 178,027 in 2004.

The 2005 result delivered 17.7% market share. Holden had the second highest sales overall to Toyota with 202,817 sales and 20.5% and was well ahead of Ford with 129,140 sales and 13.1%.

Holden sold 122,830 passenger vehicles in 2005 for 20.2% market share, ahead of Toyota at 18.1% and Ford at 11.7%. Holden sold 45,906 light trucks for 27.34% share, narrowly beating Toyota at 27.26% with Ford third at 18.8%. Within this result, Holden had the best selling Ute range with 20,202 units.

VZ Commodore variants sold 66,794 units during 2005 for 43.6% share of the large car market, almost 14,000 units clear of its nearest rival. Holden will soon introduce 2006 specifications for Commodore to further enhance value, along with a new 260kW, six-litre V8 engine.

Astra’s 2005 sales of 33,070 were boosted by the introduction of new AH Series coupe and wagon variants alongside the successful sedan and hatch designs. Its sales were 33.8% higher than 2004, making it Holden’s second biggest seller and fourth biggest seller in the overall market.

Holden’s growing strength in the small car market was reinforced by the best Barina sales in 10 years of 9,675 and its best December sales on record with 1,056 sales. This result reflected the first full month of sales for the new value-priced TK Barina series.

Holden Executive Director – Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, Alan Batey, said Holden’s result reflected its diverse vehicle range and shifting tastes in a fiercely competitive market.

“Our 2005 results endorsed our decision to focus more on small cars and introduce compelling purchases in more segments,” Mr Batey said.

“We have been able to diversify and build upon Holden’s traditional strength as a producer of large cars for Australian buyers and conditions.

“These results pave the way for our Year of the Family Car in 2006, with an all-new Commodore range and SUV to hit showrooms in the second half of the year.”

The next Holden SUV will be based on the S3X concept car