Oz 2013 Sales Still Positive Despite November Slip

Australian new-vehicle sales fell again in November, easing 1.4% year-on-year to 96,924 units.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries CEO Tony Weber said says the decline was sharpest in two states: Queensland, down 9.8% to 118,381 units, and Western Australia, off 15.9% to 9,815.

Government and business demand also slowed deliveries, with official buying dropping 9.2% year-on-year to 3,817 units and business purchases slipping 5.2% to 35,756. Private sales grew 2.8% to 49,406.

The car segment fell 4.7% for the month to 49,089 units, for an 11-month total down 1.2% to 518,768. SUV sales climbed 9.9% to 28,889 units for a year-to-date climb of 8.3% to 304,968.

Despite the November slowdown, year-to-date sales were up 2.2% to 1,039,471 units.

Toyota was Australia’s top-selling brand in November with 18,098 units, ahead of GM Holden (10,477), Hyundai (8,530), Mazda (8,399) and Ford (7,914).

The Toyota Corolla was the most popular model with 3,894 deliveries. The Mazda3 found 3,666 buyers, followed by the Toyota Hilux (3,368), Hyundai i30 (3,157) and Holden Commodore (3,097).

The results highlighted the growing popularity of small cars, with three of the five best-sellers falling within the segment: the Corolla, Mazda3 and i30. November sales in the segment rose 5.7% year-on-year to 23,108 for an 11-month total up 6.6% to 245,364 units.

Growth in the small-SUV market also continued, with November sales jumping 32.9% to 6,942 units, for a year-to-date result up 22.7% to 67,971.

Toyota's Corolla is on track to be crowned Australia’s best-selling car of 2013 with an almost insurmountable lead of 1,734 units over the second-place Mazda3. Surprisingly, considering Toyota’s track record in the country, if it does trump the Mazda it will be the first Toyota to win the title.

Corolla deliveries through November were up 12.9% to 39,794 units. The Mazda3, the top seller for the past two years but now in rollout, was off 3.6% to 38,060. An all-new Mazda3 model is due in early 2014.

Toyota’s Camry is heading for its 20th straight year as the country's top-selling midsize car. The locally built sedan has an unassailable lead of more than 14,000 units as its closest rival averages fewer than 660 sales a month.

All this leaves Toyota certain to retain overall market leadership for the 11th year in a row. With only a month to go, its dealers have delivered more than 195,000 Toyota vehicles, 92,000 ahead of its nearest rival GM Holden.

Tony Cramb, sales and marketing executive director-Toyota Australia, isn’t ready to claim victory for Corolla. For the Camry, it’s another matter: “It's mathematically impossible for any other model to come between our locally built hero and a winning streak that began way back in 1994 as the country's best-selling midsize car,” he says in a statement.

In addition to the Corolla and Camry, other Toyota vehicles atop their sales segments in November were the 86 sports car, LandCruiser 200 SUV, HiLux 4x2 and 4x4, HiAce van and HiAce bus.

Hyundai Australia saw deliveries rise 10% from prior-year to 8,530 units, good for third place in the market. It was its 18th straight month of year-on-year sales growth. Its November car sales of 6,092 units put it ahead of Mazda, Ford and Volkswagen.

Mazda’s overall November sales improved 5.4% to 8,399 units for an 11-month total of 94,618 units, maintaining its title as the top full-line importer.

The Mazda CX-5 and BT-50 have set annual sales records with one month of the year remaining. The CX-5 is approaching 20,000 units, well ahead of its 2012 benchmark of 15,861, while the BT-50 surpassed its 2012 record of 11,848.

Subaru Australia achieved a monthly sales record with deliveries up 31.8% to 4,232 units in November, beating the previous mark of 4,219 set in March. The result was driven by the Forester, up 67.7% year-on-year to 1,521 deliveries and the XV, up 48.4% to 1,339.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee posted its best month of November sales (1,405 units) as Fiat Chrysler Australia reached a group sales record. The group also passed 30,000 deliveries for the first time in a calendar year in November and marked the fourth straight month in which total sales exceeded 3,000 units.

November was the 31st successive month of year-on-year sales growth for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands and the 13th straight month of growth for the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands.