Oz New-Vehicle Sales Up in May As Mix Shifts

Australian new-vehicle sales climb 3.6% in May to 96,672 units, taking the 5-month total up 3.8% to 469,571, with a big change looming in segment domination.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries CEO Tony Weber says the market is in the midst of a transition, with cars under siege as the top-selling segment.

Car sales fell 5.8% to 38,222 units in May, to account for 39.5% of the market, down from 43.5% a year ago.

SUV deliveries, meantime, soared 11.4% to 36,230 units to account for 37.5% of the May market. Light-commercial vehicles rose 10.6% to 19,373 units for a 20% share.

Analysts say it is just a matter of time before SUVs become the biggest segment.

“All SUV sales, but particularly those in the medium segment, are growing rapidly,” Weber says in a statement.

“Business and rental-fleet buyers are strong supporters of SUVs, up 24.6% and 54%, respectively, on the same period last year. In overall market terms, sales to business are up by 13.5%, which indicates continued value in new-car pricing.”

Toyota led the May market with 17,201 sales for a 17.8% share, followed by Mazda (9,608), Hyundai (9,005), GM Holden (7,405) and Ford (6,584).

The Hyundai i30 again was the month’s top-selling vehicle, up 126.4% year-on-year to 3,771, ahead of Toyota Hilux (3,675), Toyota Corolla (3,333), Mazda3 (3,243) and Ford Ranger (3,115).

With five months of the year completed, car sales were off 5.4% at 193,317 units, while SUV deliveries were up 12.0% at 176,382. LCV sales rose 11.1% to 87,676 units.

Toyota says the Hilux, the country’s best-selling vehicle thus far, is helping put the brand on track to be the top seller for a 14th consecutive year.

In the process, HiLux has overtaken stablemate Corolla, which has been Australia’s best-selling vehicle for the past three years.

Toyota’s May sales jumped 8%, and it leads the market by more than 30,000 units, with no other brand having reached the 50,000 mark year-to-date.

Toyota Sales and Marketing Executive Director Tony Cramb says the combined impact of economic conditions and market factors are responsible for the strong 2016 sales figures from Toyota and the industry.

“Consumers are in the box seat with economic growth at its highest in four years, interest rates at an all-time low and relatively low unemployment, supported by continued vigorous competition across the new-vehicle market,” Cramb says in a statement.

“As a result, June – traditionally the strongest-selling month with the end of the financial year – could well be the industry's best sales month on record.”

Mazda set a May record, selling 9,608 vehicles. The result topped the previous mark set in 2015, and was the fifth consecutive month it set a new monthly sales benchmark. The Mazda3 led the way with 3,243 units in May, for a 5-month total of 15,976.

Hyundai’s i30 was Australia’s best-selling car for a third month in a row to claim leadership in Australia’s thriving small-car segment. Hyundai topped two market segments in May – light cars (Accent, 1,252 units) and small cars (combined i30 and Elantra, 4,050 units).

Subaru reached a May record of 4,002 deliveries, giving it a year-to-date total up 10.3% at 18,926. Its result was driven by strong demand for the Forester (up 27.7%), Outback (up 18.9%) and XV (up 12.5%) CUVs.

Volkswagen, still feeling the effects of the emissions-cheating scandal, fell 17.5% to 4,565 sales in May and is down 4.2% year-to-date at 23,876.