Australian Dealers Move LVs at Record Rate in June

Australian new-vehicle sales soared into the record books with the best-ever monthly result in June as deliveries climbed 4.4% year-on-year to 134,171 units, racing past the old mark of 128,569 units in the same month last year.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says sales of SUVs and light-commercial vehicles provided the impetus for the third record June in a row.

SUV sales rose 11.7% to 41,303 units, while LCV deliveries increased 12.2% to 28,253 and car purchases fell 5.9% to 50,646.

The FCAI says demand mainly was driven by businesses, with car sales rising 5.7% and both SUVs and LCVs up 16.6%.

It says a competitive market, low interest rates and the government’s instant asset write-off provisions were likely contributors to the record June.

The latest result nudged the first-half market up a slight 0.2% to 599,562 units. Car sales were down 6.8% at 230,267 units, while the SUV segment was up 5.0% at 233,498 and LCVs were up 5.4% at 118,995.

The biggest growth in June was in the medium SUV segment, up 32.6% at 5,402 units; upper large SUVs, up 20.8% at 1,518; and pickup/cab-chassis all-wheel-drive LCVs, up 16.7% at 20,140.

The two car segments that improved the most in June were sports cars, up 38.2% at 3,140 units, and people movers, up 15.4% at 1,499.

Toyota remained the industry leader in June with 24,546 deliveries, up 11.2%, for an 18.3% market share. Mazda followed with a record 12,501 sales, ahead of Hyundai (12,251), GM Holden (9,273) and Mitsubishi (9,266).

The Toyota HiLux remained Australia’s best-selling vehicle with 5,461 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger (5,051), Toyota Corolla (3,830), Hyundai Tucson (3,741) and Mazda3 (3,490).

Toyota increased its market lead at the 6-month mark, up 6.5% at 109,026 units for its best first-half result since 2008. Mazda followed, up 1% at a record 61,496 units, with Hyundai off 8.3% at 49,819, but still ahead of GM Holden, off 12.3% at 42,113, and Ford, which edged up to 40,705 from year-ago’s 40,383.

For the first time in a single month, Toyota delivered more than 8,000 SUVs and the HiLux surpassed 5,000 sales as it tightened its grasp on the title of Australia’s best-selling vehicle.

It was the 11th June in the past 12 years that Toyota dealers have topped 20,000 deliveries. The record for Toyota sales is 25,624 units set in June 2008.

Toyota’s Corolla retained its lead as Australia’s best-selling car with 3,830 units in June and 19,454 year-to-date.

Mazda Australia Managing Director Vinesh Bhindi says an excellent month could have been a great month but for a shortage in stock across several nameplates.

Despite the market’s increasing interest in SUVs, the Mazda3 again led Mazda’s sales charge, with 3,490 units in June. The car has sold 18,052 units year-to-date.

Mitsubishi Australia wrapped up its fiscal year with a surge in SUV sales taking it to second place for the month with 5,526 units and a 9.9% segment share.

Subaru achieved record June sales, up 1.3% year-on-year at 5,201 units and a record-breaking first-half result, up 7.9% at 25,962.

Strong performances by Subaru cars saw sales improve 3.4% for the month and 44.6% year-to-date in a declining market segment.