VFacts Jan 2010

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by Outback

Look at the sales figures, have ford ever sold more cars in a month then Holden?
they never have and never will, ford will always play second fiddle to holden.

It's not about sales volume it's about profit.

I'm under the impression Ford was a lot more profitable this year than Holden was.

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

Yeh right.. Does the rest of Australia shut down for 4 - 5 weeks over christmas?? I dont think so.

Grow up.

They might stop building cars over the Christmas period, but work is still going on at Broadmeadows. They spent this break installing new robots, and general maintenance, which would have usually been conducted on down days, which Ford have not had since August.

While it is unfortunate that Ford didn't have enough cars to sell in January, they've been going full steam ahead in February, which should show how the recovery is going, however there will be some hang over from the investment allowance.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

Yeh right.. Does the rest of Australia shut down for 4 - 5 weeks over christmas?? I dont think so.

Grow up.

Try 3 weeks, and its usually necessary because fleets don't buy many cars that time of year. A shutdown is usually required to avoid a buildup of unsold cars over Christmas/New years. This year was probably the first year in a long time Ford actually needed more cars over this period, but thats mostly due to the 50% tax rebate, which was a one off thing.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Outback

Look at the sales figures, have ford ever sold more cars in a month then Holden?
they never have and never will, ford will always play second fiddle to holden.

As others have said Ford has outsold Holden.

Another thing to remember is that when the Terri was released Ford sold more Aussie built cars then Holden (guess its hard to compete when they buy rubbish from Korea). Only recently (from about 07) Ford has dropped sales. Also the Falcon sells more to private buyers now then the Commo.

But don't let that get in the way of your trolling.

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/60030/fe...siness-buyers/

February sales boosted by private and business buyers

March 5, 2010 by Tim Beissmann

The Australian automotive industry’s positive start to 2010 continued in February with a significant increase in sales of new vehicles over last month as well as February 2009.

Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 82,219 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in February, up 17.1 percent (11,978 vehicles) on the same month in 2009.

The biggest mover by marque was Hyundai, stepping up into third position for the first time in the brand’s history, leap-frogging both Ford and Mazda in the past month.

Top 10 sales by marque:

1. Toyota – 16,814
2. Holden – 11,213
3. Hyundai – 7208
4. Ford – 7148
5. Mazda – 7003
6. Mitsubishi – 5026
7. Nissan – 4596
8. Subaru – 3278
9. Honda – 3102
10. Volkswagen – 2998

The Korean’s charge was led by the i30, with sales jumping 810 from January alone. Year-to-date (YTD) sales of the i30 are currently 128 percent above 2009.

The Commodore strengthened its lead over the Mazda3 and the Toyota Hilux while the Falcon slipped out of the top five.

The Toyota Yaris was the only vehicle to drop outside the top ten compared to last month, replaced by a resurgent Camry which climbed 1201 sales over January.

Top 10 sales by model:

1. Holden Commodore – 3914
2. Mazda3 – 3390
3. Toyota Hilux – 3271
4. Toyota Corolla – 3042
5. Hyundai i30 – 2926
6. Ford Falcon – 2514
7. Toyota Camry – 2116
8. Holden Cruze – 2075
9. Mitsubishi Lancer – 2016
10. Hyundai Getz – 1927

FCAI Chief Executive, Andrew McKellar, said private buyers returned to the market in stronger numbers in February (up 9.3 percent compared to 2009), while business sales (up 22.7 percent) and sales to rental companies (up 175 percent) were also positive.

“This is a very strong result and provides further evidence of renewed growth in vehicle sales. It is encouraging to see private buyers edging back into the market following the financial concerns of the past year.

“Deliveries of vehicles purchased under the business tax break are gradually phasing down and we need to examine how the market will look without the impact of economic stimulus,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr McKellar said sustaining the confidence of private buyers was the key challenge for the economy.

“For that reason we continue to be cautious about the impact of interest rate increases,” he said.

The light and small car segments stretched their lead at the top of the sales charts, with their combined 30,110 units accounting for 45.7 percent of all passenger vehicles sold (including SUVs).

The upper large segment was the only one to lose ground on February 2009, dropping 15.5 percent. The Holden Statesman/Caprice continues to dominate this segment, with its sales accounting for 157 of 240 upper large vehicles sold in February 2010.

Locally manufactured vehicles made up 12,391 of the total 82,219 market, with Japan (28,864), Korea (13,870) and Thailand (11,863) leading the imports.

Holden’s 5233 locally manufactured sales result was up 1039 over last year as was Toyota’s (3014 from 2532), however Ford dropped 66 units to 4143.

And in perhaps the most surprising result of the month, Mitsubishi incredibly sold one 380 sedan, almost two years after production ceased in March 2008.

[vztrt]

VFACTS: Compact SUV love affair grows apace

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2576DD001CB55B

Small soft-roaders outsell large cars as two-wheel drives boost SUV sales

5 March 2010

By RON HAMMERTON

AUSTRALIAN motorists are buying more compact SUVs than traditional large cars for the first time.

In the first two months of 2010, vehicle buyers have snapped up 16,386 small SUVs – many of them two-wheel drives never meant for the bush – compared with 15,555 large cars.

SUV sales in general grew almost 32 per cent in February over the same month in 2009, with the smaller, more affordable compact variety gaining the most traction of any market segment, up 42.7 per cent, as family buyers continue to favour more versatile vehicles.

While sales of the predominantly locally made large cars such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon were also up by a collective 7.8 per cent in February, they fell short of the overall market growth of 17.1 per cent.

Last month, 8697 compact SUVs flowed out of the showrooms, while the once-dominant large-car segment accounted for 8239 sales. Just last year, the February large car tally was 7641 vehicles against compact SUV sales of 6095 units.

However, part of the large-car sales shortfall thus far in 2010 may be due to a sales hangover from last year’s tax breaks that drove up business car sales in December, potentially taking the edge off fleet sales in what is already a quiet time of year.

February’s total market volume was 82,219 vehicles – up 17.1 per cent on the previous February’s depressed 70,241 units.

Passenger car sales grew 12.6 per cent last month, while light truck volumes loaded an extra 14.8 per cent.

But it was the SUV brigade that made hay in the new economic sunshine, especially in the most popular compact and medium segments as private buyers flooded back into the market.

An astonishing six compact SUVs of a field of 22 enjoyed sales volume rises of 190 per cent or more, with Mazda’s recently refurbished CX-7 recording its best-ever month – 944 units – with a rise of 384 per cent over the corresponding month last year.

The CX-7, like an increasing number of small and medium SUVs, gained a more affordable two-wheel drive model as part of its model upgrade. This front-drive brigade is helping to drive up SUV volumes month by month, suggesting they are substitutes for passenger cars.

The top-selling compact SUV last month again was the Subaru Forester, even though it was one of the few such vehicles to record a year-on-year decline, down 1.1 per cent.

Next best was the Toyota RAV4 (977, +14.4 per cent), Mazda CX-7 and Mitsubishi Outlander (701, +11.6 per cent).

Honda’s one-time best-selling CR-V recovered somewhat from recently lows, up 48.5 per cent to 698 units, while Subaru’s Outback and Nissan’s Dualis both recorded increases of more than 200 per cent, to 621 and 445 units respectively.

In the medium SUV segment, Holden’s Captiva (1315 units, +44.3 per cent) maintained its recent dominance over Toyota duo, Prado (1194, +22 per cent) and Kluger (1041, +26.2 per cent), while Ford’s locally made Territory came fourth (867, +13.4 per cent).

The large SUV segment was the only SUV group to fall short of the market average, rising just 9.1 per cent on February 2009, with only the dominant Toyota LandCruiser in positive territory, up 20.7 per cent to 683 units.

In top-shelf luxury SUVs, the Audi’s Q5 (282 units) hit the lead for the first time, pipping the long-time leader BMW X5 (275).

In passenger cars, entry-level light cars were up 18.4 per cent year on year, with Hyundai’s venerable Getz (1927 units) getting up as class leader against Toyota’s Yaris (1903), with the Holden Barina (1292) and Mazda2 (1143) next best.

In the top-selling small-car class, the Mazda3 is showing the same first-quarter form that gave it the early segment lead last year, topping the bracket with 3390 units, ahead of rival leadership rival Toyota Corolla (3042) and the fast-growing Hyundai i30 (2926, +137 per cent).

In the medium-car zone, Toyota’s locally-built mainstay, the Camry, sparked into life with a 35.3 per cent volume increase over February last year, thanks mainly to the introduction of the Camry Hybrid.

Camry’s 2116 units accounted for almost 40 per cent of the medium segment, with only the new Subaru Liberty (854 units), Honda Accord Euro (477) and the Ford Mondeo (465 units) providing substantial resistance. The Mondeo enjoyed the biggest rise in volume of any medium car – up 48.1 per cent – to give the Ford some joy in a fairly average month for the Blue Oval.

Perennial market leader Holden's Commodore again dominated the large-car segment, with a 15.9 per cent sales increase, to 3914 units. This means the Commodore accounted for almost half of all large cars sold for the month in its class up to $70,000 (7912 units).

The rival Ford Falcon eked out a 5.4 per cent rise, to 2514 units, with the Toyota Aurion again losing ground, down 7.2 per cent, to 898 units.

Above $70k, Mercedes-Benz’s new E-class swept all before it, selling 188 units, with BMW’s run-out 5 Series runner up on 50 units.

In the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it upper-large segment, it was a Holden fiesta, with Caprice number one with 121 sales and Statesman again making it a quinella, on 36 units.

In people-movers, the long-reigning Kia Carnival came under attack from friendly fire, with Korean partner Hyundai’s iMax mounting a challenge. While iMax sales jumped 215 per cent, to 202 units for the month, Kia’s Carnival held sway with 254 units, even though this represented a 5.2 per cent decline. Year to date, Carnival is still up 30 per cent on 2009.

It was a case of the usual suspects in the sports car market in February, with the BMW 1 Series coupe/convertible (168 units) out-pointing the Mercedes C-class Sports Coupe (153) and Kia’s Cerato Koup (117).

Higher up the sports price rankings, the BMW 3 Series Coupe/Convertible (129 vehicles) and Porsche 911 (29 units) were the standouts.

Light truck sales grew 14.8 per cent in February, dispelling fears that a pull-forward from last year’s tax incentives to businesses might rock the sales boat in early 2010.

Once again, 4x4 utes and cab-chassis vehicle were the flavour of the month, up 27.1 per cent, compared with the workhorse 4x2 variety’s decline of 3.2 per cent.

The 4x2 segment leader in February last year, the Ford Falcon Ute, was crunched to the tune of -27.9 per cent, to 762 units, while the class-leading Toyota HiLux 4x2 jumped 25.6 per cent, to 1287 units, and the Holden Ute lifted 64.3 per cent, to edge back over the 1000 units, to 1066.

In 4x4, the Toyota HiLux again zoomed ahead on 1984 units – a rise of 24.5 per cent – although the Nissan Navara made up ground, up 50.3 per cent to 1550 units.

Hyundai’s iLoad was the stand-out performer in the van market, up 323 per cent to a class-winning, record 657 units, ahead of traditional leader, the Toyota Hiace (605).

Interestingly, the iLoad and the HiAce are locked together on 1249 units apiece year to date, setting up a battle for bragging rights throughout 2010

[vztrt]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...0305-pn3e.html

Prius sales braking
MATT CAMPBELL
March 5, 2010

Aussie sales of the recalled Toyota Prius slow down more than 50%.

Australian sales of the Prius have slumped amid media attention surrounding recalls totalling almost nine million cars around the world.

But Toyota Australia says the slide in sales of the world’s most popular petrol-electric car has nothing to do with the widely publicised recalls and more to do with the arrival of Australia’s first home grown hybrid, the Camry Hybrid, which offers a similar hybrid experience in a larger body for less money.

According to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry figures released this week, year on year sales of the Prius have dropped by 52.3 per cent.

Toyota sold 124 Prius units in February, down from 260 last February. So far in 2010, Toyota has sold just 270 new Prius cars compared to 428 at this time last year.

The Prius was recalled last month amid broader recalls tarnishing the Toyota brand around the world.

But Toyota grew its market share slightly in February and the brand’s Australian public relations manager Mike Breen says it has not impacted the popular hybrid.

“We’d already started our program on Hybrid Camry,” says Breen. “We’d been running that for about three months, so we expected the decline in sales in February would be based on the anticipation of the introduction of Hybrid Camry.

“People were probably waiting to see and have a look at the Hybrid Camry before they made the decision on whether they’d go for the Camry or the Prius,” says Breen. “So we expect sales to bounce back next month.”

On the topic of petrol-electric Camry sales, Breen says the car is right on target.

“I think we’ve done about 870-odd vehicle in the last few weeks, so that’s well on target.”

Breen says that although the competition in the hybrid sector hasn’t yet bloomed, people are still turning towards the Prius because of its quality and its long-standing reputation. But he admits that the brake recall make take its toll.

“It’s probably too early to say,” he says. “I don’t think you could look at the sales for February and say that was impacted by the recall because of the timing of the recall.

“But I guess in the next couple of months we’ll see if it does have an impact. These things tend to have a bit of a lag-effect. I guess we’ll see how we go in March and April as to whether we can see any impact or not.”

The recall of the Toyota Prius hasn’t hurt its sales in its home country of Japan. According to data release by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association this week, the Prius was the highest selling car in February, with more than 27,000 sales. In fact, Toyota’s Prius has been the top-selling model in Japan for 10 months straight.

The Associated Press reports that Prius sales in Japan have received a reprieve thanks to generous government incentives and tax offset schemes.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by vztrt

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...0305-pn3e.html

Maybe those people bought a Camry Hybrid instead and pocket a couple of thousand change by buying an Aussie made (from largely imported components) vehicle.