VFACTS April 2019

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by au2000

Don't know about Holden but can only hope that somehow the stigma re focus wont hang about forever & that eventually it builds up to being a strong seller again.
looking on Ford's FB page there is still a lot of anger over the focus issues (more so the lack of assistance) from consumers & almost every time someone from Ford's PR team puts a positive spin on their customer service the focus issues rise up & they have no comeback.. makes them look silly really.

My opinion on Holden is they are paying the price for the Daewoo Garbage they rebadged and tried to pass off as quality products (Non Opel Barina's, Malibu, Captiva, Epic, etc). But anyway..

Having driven the Focus against a few competitors recently I was pleasantly surprised.. Hell, this week I just bloody ordered one...lol.. I think if they can get Private buyers in the door and behind the wheel they will start to sell... Yes, they start at a higher price but a look at whats on the road these days and you see ALOT of the mid-high spec Mazda 3/I30/etc's on the road... The public buyer isn't scared to spend $$$ on small cars..

[au2000]

absolutely.. $$ will be spent for quality.. the current & now new Mazda 3 is a bloody good car.. when I was looking to buy one a few years ago a manual Astina hatch in pearl white was the goods, the new one with burgundy leather i'd def buy if I was in the market.
TBH I prefer the previous shape of focus, this current one reminds me too much of the earlier mazda 3 & I hated those

[Sprintey]

Falcon sales within 80 of Mondeo despite not being produced for 3 years

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by csv8

Ram sales !! Among the very few brands to show some growth over April 2018 were Volvo Car (up 20.8%), Skoda (up 38.3%), MG (up 126.7%), Porsche (up 9%), Ram (up more than 800% thanks to the 'new' 1500), Haval (up 263.6%) and Great Wall (up 114.9%). People knock the Captiva but Acadia isnt selling !!! Captiva sales more than Acadia.

RAM

Make Australian utes Great-sized Again




(I'm thinking Mainline utes, haha)

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Worst April sales since 2011. Now that the housing ATM has stopped spewing free money the impacts are being felt everywhere.

Winter is... here.


(Add to it, the time when favourable tax treatment of dual cab utes will end soon)

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by arronm

Ford would probably be broke without Ranger. Who would have thought people like driving commercial trucks as a daily.

Yet they drive it like they’re in a sports car. Ever see a Ranger casually pull away at a set of lights? No, usually they plant it at every opportunity. Have a look at the next Ranger you see on the road.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Yet they drive it like they’re in a sports car. Ever see a Ranger casually pull away at a set of lights? No, usually they plant it at every opportunity. Have a look at the next Ranger you see on the road.

Accurate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[arronm]

Commercial vehicle and TAX breaks. Thats all Ranger is. If the tax deduction ever gets removed sales will more than half.

Probably 80% of Rangers dont even get used for business. Mum drives in to drop the kids to school.

Its a shame Ford had to go this way to survive. BUT our population doesnt want a large 4 door RWD 6 cyl car.

Iam an Aussie , I buy Holden and Ford. But our population isnt and doesnt....

[jstanovic]

Originally Posted by sprintey

falcon sales within 80 of mondeo despite not being produced for 3 years

🤣 🤣🤣🤣

[prydey]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Yet they drive it like they’re in a sports car. Ever see a Ranger casually pull away at a set of lights? No, usually they plant it at every opportunity. Have a look at the next Ranger you see on the road.

you must be looking at a lot of ex falcon owners. many of them also drive like the road is some sort of race or contest.

having said that, I don't actually agree with your comments. I see lots of utes around, including Rangers, and they don't drive any different to the rest of the traffic. Falcons and Commodores would still top the charts for 'biggest tool on the road' awards.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by csv8

Ram sales !! Among the very few brands to show some growth over April 2018 were Volvo Car (up 20.8%), Skoda (up 38.3%), MG (up 126.7%), Porsche (up 9%), Ram (up more than 800% thanks to the 'new' 1500), Haval (up 263.6%) and Great Wall (up 114.9%). People knock the Captiva but Acadia isnt selling !!! Captiva sales more than Acadia.

percentages are misleading. Ram could have sold 1 last year, and 8 this year, and voila, 800% increase.

its impossible for any vehicle selling in reasonable numbers to have an 800% increase.

[prydey]

probably a throw away line, and over used, but being an election year, it does tend to slow the economy in the months leading up to it. Its also closing in on end of financial year. Generally always impacts spending.

The down turn in real estate is likely also having a reasonable effect on the economy. Car sales have been down for some time now.

The other thing is, VFACTS is simply data. Its not a 'results' page from a 'competition'. Yes, manufacturers like to sell more than they do, but you don't have to be in the top 5 or 10 to be profitable. How else do the other 55 brands survive?

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by lra

Ohh, but the current Ranger was proudly designed in Australia. So what ?
Aannd, Holden does a lot of development and product testing in Autralia. Again … so what ?

There is a massive difference between 2000 workers developing a vehicle from the ground up and having it sold around the world in big numbers and say Holden running suspension tweaks on an imported model.

[au2000]

Its a side topic, but employment numbers are no longer relevant as ford are also slowly winding down it's Aussie workforce

https://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11478380

And once ranger development is moved overseas will matter even less

[au2000]

This is the stat that scares me

Focus / Small Segment
The month saw Focus remain in 7th place with 273 sold. The segment lead was regained by the Toyota Corolla (2,429) with the Mazda 3 (2,195) down a place in 2nd and the Hyundai i30 (1,910) steady in 3rd. The remainder of the Top ten are:
Kia Cerato (1,650) steady in 4th;
VW Golf (1,095) steady in 5th;
Honda Civic (652) steady in 6th;
Ford Focus in 7th;
Mitsubishi Lancer (265) steady in 8th


Even the yaris outsold the focus and yes different markets admittedly but the question I see is what does ford have to do to improve it's public image across it's range, 2000 cars a month difference is a big number

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by au2000

This is the stat that scares me

Focus / Small Segment
The month saw Focus remain in 7th place with 273 sold. The segment lead was regained by the Toyota Corolla (2,429) with the Mazda 3 (2,195) down a place in 2nd and the Hyundai i30 (1,910) steady in 3rd. The remainder of the across it's range, 2000 cars a month difference is a big number

I think the Powershift transmission issue killed any chance of Ford selling many cars in this segment.

The majority of buyers in this segment want reliable whitegood transport.

[lra]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

There is a massive difference between 2000 workers developing a vehicle from the ground up and having it sold around the world in big numbers and say Holden running suspension tweaks on an imported model.

Tell the man he is dreaming of the past, and the future is about to bite him on the backside very shortly.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by lra

Tell the man he is dreaming of the past, and the future is about to bite him on the backside very shortly.

That would be only true if one thought their past dreams were going to continue unchanged. I know full well an overseas based company looks after it's locals first.

[Oldbugger]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

I think the Powershift transmission issue killed any chance of Ford selling many cars in this segment.

The majority of buyers in this segment want reliable whitegood transport.

Last week I test drove a Focus Titanium as we are looking for a replacement for our Territory. The car is a nice car to drive if not a little harder to get in and our of having had a Territory for the past 12 years (I am getting older). The issue I have is past reputation and future resale value. This was made abundantly clear when the mechanic doing a roadworthy on the Territory asked what I was getting as a replacement. When I said possibly a Focus he burst out laughing and said you have to be joking as their transmission is rubbish and constantly breaking. I told him it's a completely different transmission but he was't convinced. This is the issue Ford faces with Focus and there current ads do nothing to show the buying public things are now different.

[ebv8]

from my limited understanding Kia is a branch of Hyundai so if you combine the 2 they are the no. 2 sellers, add a dual cab ute to the line up and maybe a performance suv they might not be far off no. 1

[anobserver]

When i was seriously looking at cars last year, i mentioned a number of options to the mechanic that looks after our current wheels. He reckoned the focus is rubbish to maintain compared to say, a mazda 3. Muttered about oil leaks and so on.

Kia and Hyundai are closely related, but keen competitors. There are persistent rumours about a Kia pickup. Now, imagine a ute with the turbo Lambda 3.3 petrol engine and a seven year warranty....

[au2000]

I wonder the numbers of transit sales v hi ace and I load vans,I loads seem to be everywhere , more so than transits, if Hyundai ends up making a 4x4 duel cab, I'd think it would probably be a big challenger to current 4x4 duel cabs

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by Oldbugger

Last week I test drove a Focus Titanium as we are looking for a replacement for our Territory. The car is a nice car to drive if not a little harder to get in and our of having had a Territory for the past 12 years (I am getting older). .

Have you considered an SUV in a similar size to the Focus?
A lot easier to get in and out.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by au2000

I wonder the numbers of transit sales v hi ace and I load vans,I loads seem to be everywhere , more so than transits, if Hyundai ends up making a 4x4 duel cab, I'd think it would probably be a big challenger to current 4x4 duel cabs

Top 3 Medium Vans -

Hyundai iLoad (318)
Toyota HiAce (253)
Volkswagen Transporter (188)

Transit -
Ford Transit Custom (143)
Ford Transit Heavy (85)

HiAce is coming up for replacement and is is now in run-out, possibly explaining it ceding 1st place to the iLoad?

Ford do seem to be putting a bit more effort into Transit lately though with new engines, an automatic gearbox is now available as well as safety updates.

[DFB FGXR6]

Also interesting to note that the Mercedes Benz X-Class only sold 147 last month. Very much a failure and certainly hasn't lived up to expectations.

My local dealer has been heavily discounting them and yet still has them sitting unwanted on the lot. I get the feeling that Mercedes really stuffed up the launch by starting off with the 2.3 engine. Had it launched with the 3.0 V6 I think it may have fared better, with the 2.3 slotting in quietly later on.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Also interesting to note that the Mercedes Benz X-Class only sold 147 last month. Very much a failure and certainly hasn't lived up to expectations.

My local dealer has been heavily discounting them and yet still has them sitting unwanted on the lot. I get the feeling that Mercedes really stuffed up the launch by starting off with the 2.3 engine. Had it launched with the 3.0 V6 I think it may have fared better, with the 2.3 slotting in quietly later on.

Who in their right mind would pay a heap of "Mercedes Tax" on a Nissan Navara??

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Also interesting to note that the Mercedes Benz X-Class only sold 147 last month. Very much a failure and certainly hasn't lived up to expectations.

My local dealer has been heavily discounting them and yet still has them sitting unwanted on the lot. I get the feeling that Mercedes really stuffed up the launch by starting off with the 2.3 engine. Had it launched with the 3.0 V6 I think it may have fared better, with the 2.3 slotting in quietly later on.

Nah. People are waiting for the AMG version with the M176 engine.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Also interesting to note that the Mercedes Benz X-Class only sold 147 last month. Very much a failure and certainly hasn't lived up to expectations.

My local dealer has been heavily discounting them and yet still has them sitting unwanted on the lot. I get the feeling that Mercedes really stuffed up the launch by starting off with the 2.3 engine. Had it launched with the 3.0 V6 I think it may have fared better, with the 2.3 slotting in quietly later on.

Many people may not be aware of the work MB did and just see them as a rebadged Nissan with a fancy badge.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Top 3 Medium Vans -

Hyundai iLoad (318)
Toyota HiAce (253)
Volkswagen Transporter (188)

Transit -
Ford Transit Custom (143)
Ford Transit Heavy (85)

HiAce is coming up for replacement and is is now in run-out, possibly explaining it ceding 1st place to the iLoad?

Ford do seem to be putting a bit more effort into Transit lately though with new engines, an automatic gearbox is now available as well as safety updates.

Don't forget the Transit Custom Sports and DiCV "crewvan" models are coming...

[au2000]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Top 3 Medium Vans -

Hyundai iLoad (318)
Toyota HiAce (253)
Volkswagen Transporter (188)

Transit -
Ford Transit Custom (143)
Ford Transit Heavy (85)

HiAce is coming up for replacement and is is now in run-out, possibly explaining it ceding 1st place to the iLoad?

Ford do seem to be putting a bit more effort into Transit lately though with new engines, an automatic gearbox is now available as well as safety updates.

Numbers are closer in this group, especially if u add both transit variants together,