September 08, 2019 |
FCAI releases August 2019 new vehicle sales figures
New vehicle sales figures for the month of August 2019 have been released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the peak body for the automotive industry.
Total sales for the month were reported at 85,633 units, a 10.1 per cent drop over the same month in 2018. Each segment of the market recorded a downturn, with passenger vehicles dropping 16.7 per cent with 25,783 sales, SUVs down 5.4 per cent with 39,040 sales and light commercial vehicles down 8.6 per cent with 17,513 sales.
Announcing the results in Melbourne today, Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, noted that the August results marked the seventeenth consecutive month of declining sales.
“There’s no doubt it is a very tough market at the moment,” Mr Weber said, “And despite the best efforts of the industry, the decrease in sales continues.”
“It is well known that Australia is one of the most competitive markets in the world, and with the current economic environment, it is also one of the most difficult markets in the world.”
“This environment stems from a slow start to the year, with tight financial lending, State and Federal elections, and a general lack of consumer confidence, both here in Australia and on an international basis.
“The question needs to be asked about whether the current regulatory approach to financing is appropriate, and if not, what harm is it is doing to both the sector, and the economy more broadly,” Mr Weber said.
Toyota remained the top selling marque for the month with 16,700 sales for a 19.5 per cent market share, followed by Hyundai (7,320 sales for an 8.5 per cent market share) and Mazda (7,291 sales also for an 8.5 per cent market share), Mitsubishi (6,242 sales for a 7.3 per cent market share) and Ford (4,916 sales for a 5.7 per cent market share).
The top selling vehicle for the month was again the Toyota Hi-Lux (3,674), followed by the Ford Ranger (3,181), Toyota Corolla (2,863), Hyundai i30 (2,813) and the Toyota RAV4 (2,006).
Key Points:
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The August 2019 market of 85,633 new vehicle sales was a decrease of 9,588 vehicle Sales, or -10.1% on August 2018 (95,221) vehicle sales. August 2019 had the same number of selling days (26.8) as August 2018 and this resulted in a decrease of 357.8 vehicle sales per day.
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The Passenger Vehicle Market was down by 5,157 vehicle sales (-16.7%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market was down by 2,231 vehicle sales (-5.4%).
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The Light Commercial Market was down by 1,652 vehicle sales (-8.6%); and the Heavy Commercial Vehicle Market was down by 548 vehicle sales (-14.3%) versus August 2018.
- Toyota was market leader in August, followed by Hyundai and Mazda. Toyota led Hyundai with a margin of 9,380 vehicle sales and 11 market share points.
