Australia Sets June New-Vehicle Sales Record

Australia’s auto industry races to a new-vehicle sales record for June, boosted by the strength of the light-commercial-vehicle market.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) says new-vehicle deliveries climbed 5.5% in the month to 118,758 units, with LCVs up 15.3% to 23,526.

VFACTS, the official supplier of monthly industry sales figures in Australia, has delayed the full release of its latest data due to technical difficulties, so year-ago comparisons are not available.

However, Toyota Australia reports that in the fiscal year ended June 30 Australians bought a record 1,137,889 vehicles. The total was more than 77,000 units ahead of the 1.06 million deliveries in fiscal 2012.

Toyota continued its sales dominance of the Australian market last month with 22,160 units, more than doubling GM Holden with 10,483, Hyundai (9,914), Ford (9,687) and Mazda (9,567), according to FCAI data.

The Toyota Hilux was the best-selling vehicle in June with a record 4,931 units, ahead of the Toyota Corolla (4,196), Mazda3 (3,672), Hyundai i30 (3,664) and Mitsubishi Triton (3,456).

Toyota Sales and Marketing Executive Director Tony Cramb says the automotive industry is the standout performer in Australian retailing.

“Strong competition, the highest levels of affordability in decades, low interest rates and a relatively strong economy are all pointing to a full (calendar) year total of at least 1.1 million sales,” Cramb says in a statement.

“We are potentially heading for another all-time record and the fourth consecutive year above the magic million.”

Mitsubishi sales surged 42% in June to a record 9,250 units, taking its first-half total to 37,327. First-half deliveries of SUVs (12,362 units) and LCVs (13,292 units) both were records, FCAI data shows.

Nissan deliveries jumped 10% in June to 9,228 units for the highest monthly result achieved by the auto maker in Australia for any month.

Mazda’s June sales of 9,567 vehicles helped set a 6-month record of 52,287 units. The auto maker also claimed a record fiscal year, with deliveries up 7.6% to 104,040.

Mazda’s CX-5 cross/utility vehicle sold a record 2,036 units in June, the first time it has passed 2,000 deliveries in a single month. With more than 10,000 deliveries in the first half, the CUV now is more than 2,000 units ahead of its closest rival.

Audi’s June sales rose 10.5% to a record 1,505 units, with first-half results up 17.3% to 8,152.

Managing Director Andrew Doyle says in a statement the result “gives us a good indication that we will achieve our ninth record year of growth this year. We feel confident about achieving more than 15,500 units for the full year.”