November Result Pushes Oz Sales Past 1 Million Mark

Australia’s 2014 new-vehicle sales hit the 1 million mark despite a continuing slump in year-on-year sales.

The November result, down 4.8% to 92,232 units, left the year-to-date total down 2.2% to 1,016,412.

Releasing the latest data, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says it expects the full-year result to top 1.1 million units.

FCAI CEO Tony Weber says a softening of the economy appears to be affecting sales in all states and territories, with all regions showing declines from a year earlier.

“In particular, sales fell significantly in the mining states of Queensland and Western Australia, with sales down 8.5% and 9.6%, respectively,” Weber says in a statement.

He says the big drama now is which small car will be Australia’s No.1 seller.

“Only 679 sales separate the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda3,” Weber says in a statement. “While the Toyota Corolla is ahead in sales for 2014, the Mazda3 was the top-selling vehicle in November.”

 Weber says SUV sales continue to be strong in a falling market, with 7.3% more models sold in November than a year ago.

“Small and medium SUVs showed large growth, increasing 17.7% and 19.3%, respectively, on November 2013 sales figures,” he says.

The rest of the November data wasn’t as favorable. Car sales fell 12.2%, light-commercial vehicles were off 4.9% and large SUVs were down 9.9%.

Analysts note last month’s large-car deliveries tumbled 37.7% year-on-year to be off 7.7% year-to-date. The small-car market dropped 11.7% from a year earlier.

“While government purchases have generally increased this year, in November, sales to government fell 11.4%,” Weber says. “Private sales also took a hit, with sales down 7.9%. Business purchases continued to fall, with sales down 3.4%.”

The Motor Report website notes Toyota’s November result was down 11.6% to 15,995 units, while Hyundai rose 0.8% to a distant second with 8,600. Mazda followed, slipping 3.5% to 8,106 units, ahead of GM Holden, dropping 25.1% to 7,849, Mitsubishi jumping 37.1% to 7,067 and Ford, declining 26.2% to 5,843.

The Mazda3 topped November deliveries with 3,499 units, ahead of the Toyota Corolla (3,264), Toyota Hilux (2,920), Hyundai i30 (2,886) and Holden Commodore (2,200).

Corolla becomes the first vehicle in Australia to pass 40,000 sales this year. It was the best-selling vehicle in the country in 2013.

The Corolla, backed up by the HiLux and Camry, has driven Toyota’s Australian sales to more than 184,400 units so far this year. With no other brand reaching 100,000 deliveries with a month to go, Toyota is on track to be the country's best-selling automotive brand for the 12th straight year.

“This will also be the 10th year that Toyota customers have bought at least 200,000 vehicles, a record that is unprecedented in the local automotive sector,” Tony Cramb, executive director-sales and marketing says.

Toyota Australia expects its workforce will drop from 3,900 people to about 1,300. This includes the loss of manufacturing and corporate jobs and the creation of some new roles within the automaker, which is ending manufacturing operations in the country in 2017.

Hyundai Australia’s November-record 8,600 deliveries represented a 30th consecutive month of year-on-year sales growth. The result gave the automaker a 9.3% market share. Hyundai’s 5,903 car sales left the brand in second position with a 13.7% share.

Fiat Chrysler Australia says a huge November ensured 2014 will be its best year on record.

Year-to-date sales of 39,587 units were 9,000 ahead of like-2013 and were up 33.1% year-on-year in a down market.

Jeep led the charge, with Australia’s best-selling large SUV – the Grand Cherokee – selling 1,244 units in November, raising its year-to-date result 35.1% to 15,541. Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Fiat Professional are on track for their best year of Australian sales, with the Fiat 500 and Freemont improving 53.9% and 43.7%, respectively. Alfa Romeo sales were up 15.1% from like-2013.

Mitsubishi Australia achieved its highest November import sales on record, up 37.7% to 7,067 units. Year-to-date, Mitsubishi has sold 61,199 units for a 6% market share.