Australia Sets Record for New-Vehicle Sales in June

Australian new-vehicle deliveries climbed 17.1% to a record 112,566 units in June, surpassing the industry’s previous best month by 3,844 set two years earlier.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says June is consistently the market’s best-performing month, accounting for nine of the top 10 sales months.

The record June result left first-half sales up 10.4% to 547,854 units. New-car deliveries rose 5.8% for the month to 57,439, yielding a 6-month total up 3.1% to 286,118.

SUV sales soared 46.6% to 31,617 units for a first-half total up 33.4% to 153,255. Light-commercial vehicle deliveries increased 18.2% last month to 20,440 for a year-to-date result up 4.9% to 90,412.

Gasoline-powered vehicles dominated the passenger-car segment, accounting for 92% of the 162,676 vehicles sold in the first six months. The 10,404 diesel deliveries represented 6.5%, while hybrid sales surged 84% to 1,950 for a little more than 1% of the segment.

The FCAI says the market for locally manufactured vehicles was strong, with nearly 70,000 units sold year-to-date, up from just over 63,000 in like-2011.

Toyota was the best-performing brand in June with 21,649 deliveries, more than second-place GM Holden (10,632) and No.3 Mazda (9,593) combined.

For the third month in a row, the C-segment Mazda3 with 3,924 units was outsold by Toyota’s HiLux pickup with 4,308. Other vehicles selling in excess of 3,000 units for the month were the Toyota Corolla (3,804), Holden Cruze (3,057), Nissan Navara (3,034) and Hyundai i30 (3,024).

After six months, Toyota led the market with a 24.6% improvement to 106,035 units. GM Holden followed, down 10.2% to 56,183, but ahead of Mazda, up 19.0% to 52,133. Hyundai sales rose 5.4% to 45,306, surpassing faltering Ford, down 4.1% to 43,430.

“Expanded production at Toyota's HiLux factory in Thailand has enabled us to deliver a substantial number of vehicles in recent months,” Matthew Callachor, executive director-sales and marketing, says in a statement.

Toyota’s new 86 sports car sold out in its first month with 414 delivered. Unprecedented demand for the coupe has led to a long wait for most buyers, typically between six and 12 months.

Callachor says Toyota’s 2012 sales forecast remains unchanged: more than 200,000 for the company and more than 1 million for the industry.

GM Holden says its June result, down 17% year-on-year for a 9.4% market share, reflects a highly competitive market and the auto maker’s focus on profitability and long-term sustainability.

Sales Director Philip Brook says aggressive end-of-financial-year campaigns and limited supplies of key models such as the subcompact Barina hatchback and Colorado pickup curtailed GM Holden’s sales.

“June was another tough month for Holden, but customers have started to take delivery of the new Colorado, and we’re expecting to meet the balance of pre-orders in the coming months,” he says in a statement.

“We’re looking forward to the second half of the year when we’ll have a stronger pipeline of vehicles and a fresh direction in Holden advertising around the new long-range electric Volt.”

Hyundai moved into third place in June as its sales rose 13.3% to 9,672 units. The Australian subsidiary achieved several “best-ever” results, including the most monthly deliveries since its foundation in 2003 and second-highest sales month since the brand’s introduction to the country in 1986.

The Elantra, i40, Veloster, ix35 and iLoad all recorded their best monthly sales results since their respective launches in the Australian market.

Hyundai led the small segment in June with a 16% share achieved largely through combined sales of its i30 and Elantra models. It placed third in the light segment with combined 1,681 deliveries of the i20 and Accent for a 12.4% share.

Mazda Australia finished the first half of the year as it started, on a record sales pace with 9,593 units in June. The result boosted its six-month total 19.0% to 52,133.

Nissan Australia had its strongest month in more than two decades with sales jumping 37% to 8,330 units for its highest total since becoming a full-line importer in Australia in 1992.

Kia continued its progress in the Australian new-car market with sales growing 24.4% to a record 3,400 units in June. For the first half, the Korean auto maker was up 23.2% to 15,809.

The Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands recorded their strongest-ever monthly result in Australia with sales climbing 68.9% to 1,738 units.

Fiat Chrysler Group Managing Director Clyde Campbell says in a statement the July 2011-June 2012 period was the brands’ strongest 12-month period on record, with sales jumping 62.5% year-on-year to 16,237 units.