VFACTS April 2010

[tapeworm]

It would be good for Ford to metion their 4litre as the 'only Australian designed & built six too', i've noticed that Average Joe thinks this is American too, ha.

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

Oh and i know one dealer in QLD that registered over 70 demos last month and he wasnt at the top of the tree!

Ouch !

Sounds like dealers "playing the game", I bet you can't get a drive of a demo at many dealers because they 'don't have one'.

But I bet they registered a few and sold them straight away !

[Joe5619]

I'm really amazed at the number of "demos" listed on carsales... I did a search of sedans only with 50kms & under. There is 467 Falcons vs 135 Commodore listed. Didn't look at anything over 50km, but that is alot of car that really should not be classed as "sold".

Next time I want a new Falcon I might look at this in more detail as there is big savings...

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/66603/to...er-one-seller/

Toyota sees positive April result, HiLux still number-one seller

May 5, 2010 by Matt Brogan

Toyota’s year-on-year sales were up more than 28 per cent in April, with the Toyota HiLux range topping the brand’s new-car sales list.

The news comes as many manufacturers see solid post-GFC results in Australia, with April the seventh consecutive month of higher year-on-year sales.

In April, Toyota sold a total of 16,697 vehicles, a margin of over 6700 vehicles (or 67.6 per cent) above its nearest rival. The total figure up 13,033 units (or 28.1 per cent) against the same month last year.

The brand’s HiLux light commercial range was its number-one seller in April, selling more than 3400 units. It’s the fifth time the HiLux has topped the sales charts, the news coming two years to the day after it first reached number one, in April 2008.

Other strong sellers for Toyota include the Prado SUV, the model selling almost 1500 units last month, Toyota Corolla, on 2829 sales, Toyota Camry with 1830 sales, Toyota Yaris recording 1799 units and Toyota Aurion on 1024 units.

Similarly, Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series, HiAce van and HiAce bus all led their respective segments.

“Toyota’s dealers responded to the global financial crisis with kaizen (continuous improvement) activities designed to improve their service to customers even further,” said Toyota Australia’s senior executive director sales and marketing, David Buttner.

“These changes have contributed significantly to the pick-up in sales, which we expect to continue throughout the year.

“We also recognise the support of consumers for our extensive model line-up and wish to thank our customers for their on-going loyalty.”

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/66607/su...trong-results/

Subaru sales up in April, Forester sees strong results

May 5, 2010 by Matt Brogan

Subaru has achieved a positive result in April recording 3216 vehicle sales, according to official VFACTS figures released today. Topping the list, the brand’s Forester compact SUV.

The result shows Subaru sales were up 7.2 per cent on the same month last year, and up 9.3 per cent year-to-date (YTD).

Leading the brand’s sales charge in April is the Subaru Forester. Selling 1116 units for the month, the Forester maintained its position as Australia’s best-selling compact SUV.

In second place, the new-generation Subaru Liberty registered 547 sales for the month. The figure up 53.7 per cent on the same time last year and 54.0 per cent YTD.

Following in a close third, Subaru Outback sold 456 examples, up an impressive 96.6 per cent for the month and 106.6 per cent YTD.

Other strong sellers for the brand include the Subaru Impreza range, totalling 984 units, and family-size Subaru Tribeca with 113 sales.

[cosmo20btt]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Personally I think the Corolla is one of the best looking small cars out there.. To me, it is better looking than Madaz 3, I30, Curze, & Focus. The only small cars I think look better is the Lancer & Golf.. I totally understand why they sell so well, add the reliability factor & you have a sales winner!!

Doesn't help when Mazda stuck those bulbous lights on the three that make it look like a Camry.

[russellw]

The first set of graphical data has been uploaded in the Tech Portal now.

An interesting month for a number of reasons including the fall of the Large segment behind the light SUV's (again) although it also got back above the medium SUV's by a whisker.

Cheers
Russ

[Ghiadude]

With Hilux selling up a storm we could really use the T6 ....NOW!

[ivorya]

Originally Posted by phillyc

I do think that Cruze has taken some sales from Commodore.

I just read on the Car Advice
http://www.caradvice.com.au/66594/ho...est-month-yet/
that the cruze has had over 2500 sales last month.

I don't know what people see in this Daewoo other then price.

[Falcon_Crazy]

Originally Posted by ivorya

I just read on the Car Advice
http://www.caradvice.com.au/66594/ho...est-month-yet/
that the cruze has had over 2500 sales last month.

I don't know what people see in this Daewoo other then price.

They see a Holden and think they are buying Aussie...

[Falc'man]

Thanks Russ.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by ivorya

I just read on the Car Advice
http://www.caradvice.com.au/66594/ho...est-month-yet/
that the cruze has had over 2500 sales last month.

I don't know what people see in this Daewoo other then price.

Cruze has done well with private buyers but the fleets are taking their cut i'd say. ALOT of the cruze's i have seen were driven by employees of local offices of some major businesses. EIther they all decided to buy cruze's or they were in company cars....

I'd like to see the fleet/private split on cruze and in particular that versus the commodore split. Its interesting that after securing 2500 sales of cruze they also report a pretty lackluster 3100 sales of VE. I'd have to check but that is the closest the FG has gone to the VE in raw sales no. difference for a while, maybe since FG launched (bearing in mind FG already matched VE sedan for sedan).

The huge number of VE omegas (by % of VE sales), which are nearly all fleet, combined with the high sales of cruze has crushed the VE to a very very low private buyer/rich model mix. You can bet your bacon that the 2700FG sales netted ford more money in profit then the 3100 VE sales. Hell the 2500 cruze sales probably got Holden more profit than teh VE sales.....

Without the Wagon (which is a bit fresher) the VE would both lose the overal race to the FG AND have an even lower private buyer mix. The FG while profitable is being built at the production limit....it was never going to beat the VE. But its a rival holden (GM daewoo) product that will kill it.....not the falcon....

[Chilliman]

The Cruze is fast becoming Commodore's biggest competitor - talk about canibalism

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by ivorya

I just read on the Car Advice
http://www.caradvice.com.au/66594/ho...est-month-yet/
that the cruze has had over 2500 sales last month.

I don't know what people see in this Daewoo other then price.

May be they test drove one and liked it. Maybe you should too.
The majority of reports I have read and the feedback people have given seems to be pretty positive.

[dannyhilton]

Originally Posted by Wretched

The majority of reports I have read and the feedback people have given seems to be pretty positive.

It's a vanilla car. It doesn't particularly excel at anything, but nor does it fail miserably at anything. It's a handsome car, is built relatively well, is cheap and packed full of features, and while it's not the last word in performance and dynamics, it's definitely not a bad driving car. Combine that with a brilliant marketing campaign, that tugs at the heart strings of potential clients, slap on a trusted Holden badge, and you have a very competent car. Sure, it's as inspiring as cold dishwater to most of us, but it's a genuinely good car that does what consumers want, at a fair price.

If anything, if I were in the market for a cheap base model small sedan, I'd have it over the Corolla, Lancer, Focus and 3. It's definitely a good car.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by dannyhilton

It's a vanilla car. It doesn't particularly excel at anything, but nor does it fail miserably at anything. It's a handsome car, is built relatively well, is cheap and packed full of features, and while it's not the last word in performance and dynamics, it's definitely not a bad driving car. Combine that with a brilliant marketing campaign, that tugs at the heart strings of potential clients, slap on a trusted Holden badge, and you have a very competent car. Sure, it's as inspiring as cold dishwater to most of us, but it's a genuinely good car that does what consumers want, at a fair price.

If anything, if I were in the market for a cheap base model small sedan, I'd have it over the Corolla, Lancer, Focus and 3. It's definitely a good car.

And there is the "magic" formula. It is simply a decent car at a decent price, what consumers want.

As mentioned above, the Cruze isn't anything special, it won't lap great times or perform power slides but the majority of consumers don't want that.

[Polyal]

Yeap the Cruze is a modern day Hyundai Excel (the bubble one).

At the end of the day its selling and thats what they need.

[dannyhilton]

And there is the "magic" formula. It is simply a decent car at a decent price, what consumers want.

Exactly. Calling it a crap Daewoo car is ignorant, because it's not crap, it's just very middle of the road. Even people like us, genuine car fans, can see the appeal and acknowledge it's a decent car, so imagine what the general public thinks of the car, they love it! And with good reason.

Comparing it the the Hyundai Excel probably doesn't do it justice, as that was a piece of crap, no matter which way you looked at it, but the Cruze looks decent, drives well, handles safely, is built well, it has a five star safety rating and is brimming with kit. The Excel was a crap box, and no way in hell can that be glorified.

[russellw]

.. and the Supplementary Stats data is uploaded now as well.

Cheers
Russ

[ivorya]

Originally Posted by Wretched

The majority of reports I have read and the feedback people have given seems to be pretty positive.

I like you to point us in the direction of these so-called positive REPORTS!!

Everything i've read SLAMS the engines for being old,extremely underpowered and overly thirsty when compared to the competition.

Not so good for the so-called Green credentials it also portrays.

[Windsor220]

Having driven and worked on a couple, they are the best of the Korean stuff. So still far from class leading but not as bad as you'd think.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by ivorya

I like you to point us in the direction of these so-called positive REPORTS!!

Everything i've read SLAMS the engines for being old,extremely underpowered and overly thirsty when compared to the competition.

Not so good for the so-called Green credentials it also portrays.

You obviously have the internet so how about you have a look.
I'll start you off
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/320...rst-test-drive

...At just $20,990 for the CD petrol manual the 2009 Cruze is a decent drive at a decent price, and although there are some shortcomings in terms of performance, Holden’s ‘30-something’ target market is unlikely to be bothered by them.

Neither will downsizing retirees, empty-nesters or first-car buyers with a little more cash to spend, all of whom will be drawn to the Cruze for its compelling list of standard kit, safety gear and solid packaging...

Obviously the car isn't perfect (just like every other car) and no one here said it was but to just bash it without any clue reeks of ignorance.
For the price it is a decent car and offers another choice for buyers in this price range.

[Chilliman]

Originally Posted by Wretched

You obviously have the internet so how about you have a look.
I'll start you off
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/320...rst-test-drive



Obviously the car isn't perfect (just like every other car) and no one here said it was but to just bash it without any clue reeks of ignorance.
For the price it is a decent car and offers another choice for buyers in this price range.

I concur, the Cruze is not a brilliant car but it is decent, does what people in that price bracket want and comes well equipped - and that is why it is such a threat to Commodore!

[GS608]

So does anyone have a model/make run down yet to post up?

[bobthebilda]

Russell, am I reading the stats incorrectly or is something wrong. By all indications the stats indicate the commodore at just over 4100 sales, whereas all articles i have read have the commodore sales at just over 3100 sales.

[russellw]

The Commodore is in at 3,165 for the month and a quick look at the graphs shows that to be the case - with the exception of the combined platform graph which adds the Ute sales in as well. Likewise the segment based graphs in the Supplementary stats are based on rolling averages so the figures do not represent a single month but the average over 40+ months.

Cheers
Russ

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by PHILIP LORD

Long haul: Toyota's ute was Australia's most popular new model last month.
Car sales lift by more than a quarter in April as HiLux outsells Commodore, Mazda3

BUSINESS is booming and car-makers are reaping the rewards, with Australia’s new-vehicle market in April gaining a solid 7436 units or 27.3 per cent over the same month last year to make it the seventh consecutive month of growth, driven by an upswing in business and rental vehicle sales.

According to VFACTS sales figures issued today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), Hyundai – which struck a shiver down the spine of local car-makers when it unseated Ford as number-three seller in February - slipped from fourth to fifth position overall after being overtaken by Mazda.

Hyundai, sold 6725 vehicles – 62.6 per cent up on the same month in 2009 - for an 8.3 per cent market share in April, but was still eclipsed by Mazda (8.4 per cent, 6805 sales – up 32.9 per cent), although Hyundai still leads Mazda in year-to-date terms, albeit by 19 sales.

Aided by its all-conquering HiLux ute, which outsold the Commodore and Mazda3 to become Australia’s top-selling vehicle bar none last month, Toyota continued its dominance in April with 20.5 per cent of the market (16,697 sales – up 28.1 per cent).

It led Holden with a 12.2 per cent share (9964 sales – up 27.3 per cent), while Ford improved its buffer against the threat posed by Hyundai with a 10.1 per cent share (8192 sales – up 19.8 per cent).

In year-to-date sales, there has been no change to the order at the sharp end of the top-ten makes, with Toyota selling 63,381 vehicles (for a 20.5 per cent share), Holden selling 43,440 vehicles (13.0 per cent) and Ford selling 30,162 units (9.1 per cent).

Nissan (up 25.1 per cent in April) remains ahead of Mitsubishi in sixth place despite the latter selling more vehicles and posting a 52.8 per cent sales spike last month, while Subaru swapped positions with Honda - the former now in eighth position with 13,433 sales, versus ninth-placed Honda with 13,324 sales.

While all segments grew last month, it was the people-movers (up 51.5 per cent), small cars (up 43.3 per cent) and SUVs (up 38.0 per cent) that bettered the average growth for the month.

The Hyundai Getz continued its lead in the light-car class (2192, +67.7 per cent) over the Toyota Yaris (1799, +29 per cent) and Mazda2 (1115, +31.2 per cent). The Getz also continues to lead the Toyota Yaris in YTD sales (7672 and 7378 units respectively).

Small cars continue as the volume-selling passenger-car class, with the majors’ position unchanged - Mazda3 leading with 3079 sales (up 23 per cent) over the Toyota Corolla (2829, +18.6 per cent) and Hyundai i30 (2483, +65.5 per cent).

In the medium segment, the number-one Camry posted healthy growth (1434, +31.3 per cent), while second in line Mazda6 took 736 sales (+21.5 per cent) and holds a lead over the Subaru Liberty with 547 units sold (+53.7 per cent), the Six and Liberty are tied in year-to-date sales with 2631 sales each.

Among the key large-car models, the Falcon showed the strongest growth (2763, +24 per cent) but the Holden Commodore was still number one in the segment, albeit slightly down (3165, -0.4 per cent), while Toyota’s third place-getting Aurion improved slightly in volume (1024, +5.7 per cent).

Among the large cars over $70,000, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class continued its lead, with 175 units and 52.6 per cent of the segment for April. Jaguar XF sales were up 31 per cent for the month at 38 units - equal to the Audi A6 sales volume, with both edging out the soon-to-be-replaced BMW 5 Series for April (38, -12.2 per cent).

In the upper-large under $100,000 segment it was business as usual; the Holden Caprice (125, +42 per cent) led the Statesman at 37 units - the same number of Statesmans sold in April last year.

There was an upset in the people-mover segment when the Hyundai iMax finally overturned the Kia Carnival for number one in the class, with 277 and 257 sales respectively. The iMax’s 267 per cent growth in YTD sales will no doubt taper off but it is only a couple hundred units away from segment leadership. The Toyota Tarago clocked 170 units at growth rate of 5.8 per cent over April last year.

Sportscar sales are a bellwether for a healthy economy and April sales were patchy. Manufacturers found 18 per cent more buyers this April than last for sportscars costing less than $70,000, while 4.1 per cent fewer for sportscars costing more than $80,000 and 1.6 per cent more for $200K-plus sports cars were sold.

BMW led the under $70K category with the 1 Series (188, -4.6 per cent), followed by the Mercedes-Benz CLC-class (166, +88.4 per cent) and the new two-door image-leader for Kia, the Cerato Koup, at 133 sales for April.

It was a close call for $70K-plus sportscarsk, with the Audi A5 pipping the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe/Convertible at the post (112 and 111 sales respectively). The tables were turned in YTD figures (Mercedes-Benz with 497 versus 496 for Audi), but both were second-place getters to the BMW 3 Series Coupe/Convertiblem with 520 units sold YTD.

In terms of sportscars costing more than $200K, the Porsche 911 led with 24 sales, accounting for 37.5 per cent of the segment, over Maserati (11 sales) and Aston Martin with seven.

Compact SUVs were up 34.0 per cent in April, with the segment again led by the Subaru Forester (1116, -9.9 per cent), followed by the Toyota RAV4 (1020, +15.3 per cent) and the Mitsubishi Outlander (813, +121.5 per cent).

Toyota’s new Prado (1488, +91.5 per cent) led the medium SUVs, followed by the Holden Captiva (1095, +85 per cent), which narrowly outsold the Ford Territory (1085, +70.9 per cent) again.

It was a two-horse race in the large SUV segment as the Jeep Commander finally bowed out, leaving the Toyota LandCruiser 200 and the Nissan Patrol. The LandCruiser still owned the class, with 644 sales over the Patrol’s 243 sales - and also sold almost three LandCruisers to one Patrol in YTD sales - but Patrol showed a healthier growth in percentage terms than LandCruiser over April last year (33.5 per cent versus 13.0 per cent).

Luxury SUVs sales were up a third over last April, with the segment led by the Audi Q5 (206 sales), with BMW’s X1 (197 sales) and X5 (189 sales) rounding out the top three.

Hyundai exhibited its growing sales momentum in the van segment, as sales of its iLoad van grew 204.1 per cent for the month, although with 447 sales it was not enough to trounce the Toyota HiAce with 614 sales (up 18.5 per cent). In third place sat the new Volkswagen Transporter, with 157 sales (up 63.5 per cent).

The 4x2 ute market was dominated by the HiLux, which owned 27 per cent of the segment with 1271 sales - up 15.3 per cent. The Holden Commodore Ute was second (812, -2.9 per cent) followed by the Ford Falcon Ute (794, -0.1 per cent).

The HiLux continued to take a sizable chunk of the 4X4 ute market too, with 2148 sales notched up in April - up 40.4 per cent. The Nissan Navara was second with 1327 (up 1.2 per cent), while the Holden Colorado was third (874, +14.0 per cent) and Isuzu’s D-Max posted an outstanding 124 per cent sales lift to 381 utes last month.

Top 10 makes, April 2010:

[CODE]Rank Make Sales % Share
1 Toyota 16,697 20.5%
2 Holden 9964 12.2%
3 Ford 8192 10.1%
4 Mazda 6805 8.4%
5 Hyundai 6725 8.3%
6 Mitsubishi 4805 5.9%
7 Nissan 4660 5.7%
8 Subaru 3216 4.0%
9 Honda 3063 3.8%
10 Volkswagen 2846 3.5% [/CODE]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25771A00128E57

[uranium_death]

I think the new Fiesta has really lifted light car sales...see a few of them on the road...
Good result for Ford, because Hyundai and Mazda were damn close last month...possibly ahead.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by May 6, 2010 by Tim Beissmann

The second-highest April result on record has pushed new vehicle sales figures more than 20 percent ahead of the same time last year and has kept Australia within striking distance of the magic million mark.

Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 81,401 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in April, up 27.3 percent (17,436 vehicles) on the same month in 2009.

The Toyota Hilux dethroned the Commodore as the highest selling new vehicle, recording 3419 sales (1271 Hilux 4×2 and 2148 Hilux 4×4) compared to the Holden’s 3165.

The Mazda3 was the only other vehicle to break 3000, with the Corolla and the Falcon making up the top five.

Top 10 sales by model:

1.Toyota Hilux – 3419
2.Holden Commodore – 3165
3.Mazda3 – 3079
4.Toyota Corolla – 2829
5.Ford Falcon – 2763
6.Holden Cruze – 2514
7.Hyundai i30 – 2483
8.Hyundai Getz – 2192
9.Mitsubishi Lancer – 1912
10.Toyota Yaris – 1799

Toyota maintained its dominant position as the highest selling new vehicle brand with a 20.5 percent of the market ahead of Holden (12.2 percent) and Ford (10.1 percent).

Top 10 sales by marque:

1.Toyota – 16,697
2.Holden – 9964
3.Ford – 8192
4.Mazda – 6805
5.Hyundai – 6725
6.Mitsubishi – 4805
7.Nissan – 4660
8.Subaru – 3216
9.Honda – 3063
10.Volkswagen – 2846

Full sales figures and segment winners can he seen here.

FCAI Chief Executive, Andrew McKellar, said the strong result across a broad range of vehicle segments was an encouraging sign of healthy competition but stressed that the Australian automotive industry still faced significant challenges.

“It has to be expected that recent interest rate increases will have some dampening effect on demand over coming months.

“However, the industry is hopeful that interest rates must now be at a level where further increases will be more difficult to justify,” Mr McKellar said.

SUVs are leading the charge over last year’s results, with 18,067 April sales 38 percent above the same month last year. Passenger cars also performed solidly, their 47,156 units more than 10,000 ahead of April 2009.

The most improved segment was the People Movers which was up 51.5 percent for April (1159 vs 765) and is 38.4 percent ahead of 2009 year-to-date (4199 vs 3035).

The Kia Carnival continues to lead the way with 1164 sales after the first four months, however, the Hyundai iMax is the bolter of the pack. The Hyundai pipped the Kia for volume in April (277 vs 257), taking its year-to-date sales increase to an impressive 268 percent.

Medium SUVs are also up 39.7 percent for the first four months of 2009 on the back of strengthening sales of the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Toyota Prado and Holden Captiva.

Light and small cars continue to dominate passenger sales, accounting for 64 percent of the market.

A bumper April for the Getz pushed it ahead of the Yaris into the light car lead for the year to date (7672 vs 7378), while the Mazda3 stretched its lead in the small car segment, holding a 17.5 percent market share for the first four months.

The Camry Hybrid had another solid month (396), finishing fourth in the sub-$60,000 medium segment behind the standard Camry (1434), Mazda6 (736) and the Subaru Liberty (547).

Ford sold more locally manufactured vehicles than Holden and Toyota (4642 vs 4139 vs 2854), but Holden still holds the lead year to date with 18,916 units (up 12.7 percent on 2009) compared with Ford’s 16,694 (up 17.1 percent) and Toyota’s 10,954 (up 22.8 percent).

The largest proportion of our vehicles came from Japan (28,355), followed by Korea (13,607, up 76.4 percent on April 2009) and Thailand (12,392).

http://www.caradvice.com.au/66665/ne...is-april-2010/

[TUF_302]

The best thing i can get out of all that, is that Ford sell the most locally produced cars, therefore making them the most Australian!