July 2006 new car sales

[Falcon Freak]

Another month is just about to finish. I am interested to see how many Commonbores will be sold considering the VE is due to go on sale in August.

FF

[vztrt]

Guess we'll know on Thurs.

[Falcon Freak]

Any early figures available?

FF

[Smoke Pursuit]

Been a bad month i believe.

[vztrt]

Sorry FF havent been able to scrounge anything up.
Doubt anything too big, but I know all the XR6 N/A were sold in July.

[rst2000]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Sorry FF havent been able to scrounge anything up.
Doubt anything too big, but I know all the XR6 N/A were sold in July.

any numbers available yet?

[mcnews]

Last Update: Thursday, August 3, 2006. 12:18pm (AEST)
Toyota dominates car sales
The latest car sales figures show Holden is holding its position as Australia's second-largest seller, while Mitsubishi is well back in fifth place.

Figures for July show Toyota continues to dominate.

It sold nearly 17,000 cars - nearly 5,000 ahead of Holden, Ford and Mazda.

Mitsubishi sold nearly 4,000 cars last month.

Overall, the figures show that fewer cars are being bought.

There is an increasing preference for small cars, because of high petrol prices.

[Dave_au]

4711 Corolla
4022 Commodore
3951 Ford Falcon.

Anyone got 380, Focus, Mazda 3, or Camry?

[TheSneakiness]

What I can't understand is why people are going for the smaller cars.

The engines need to do twice as much work as your average Falcon/Commodore to do the same thing. Meaning it uses as much fuel as a family sized car.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by AUII_SE_Ute

What I can't understand is why people are going for the smaller cars.

The engines need to do twice as much work as your average Falcon/Commodore to do the same thing. Meaning it uses as much fuel as a family sized car.

Corolla is a proven winner its renowned for reliability and re-sale is outstanding.
its costs $20,000 witch is $13,000 cheaper than a Falcon/commie.
Small cars have excellent fuel economy, cheaper tyres, insurance and servicing a 4cyl.
My wife drives a 4cyl yesterday she filled up $38, I filled up the F6 $85.

[XR Martin]

What surprises me is that just about every other small car is better than the Corolla, in a recent Wheels test it came last out of eight cars.

It's all about perception!

Resale will be effected for Corolla once all those rental Corollas come back on the used car market.

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

Corolla is a proven winner its renowned for reliability and re-sale is outstanding.
its costs $20,000 witch is $13,000 cheaper than a Falcon/commie.
Small cars have excellent fuel economy, cheaper tyres, insurance and servicing a 4cyl.
My wife drives a 4cyl yesterday she filled up $38, I filled up the F6 $85.

Bloody hell.

I had to fill my ute yesterday with petrol (having fuel issues), and it cost me $84 @ $1.26/litre for 95 RON.

I realise that they're cheaper in regards with tyres/insurance/servicing, but just as a pointer.

I recently went for a ride with my brother and his GF in her Bits-Are-Missing Lancer, and in 5th gear at 110km/h, it was sitting on 3500rpm. My ute sits on 2200rpm at 110km/h. This is where I'm coming from. That a 4 cylinder has to do more work than a family 6 to do the same thing.

I'm not saying they're bad cars, just mechanically, wouldn't you think that a stock 4 banger takes more of a beating than a stock 6 banger?

[Full Spectrum]

I agree with you on that, My sister has a Proton Gen-2, 5 speed manual, @ 100 it sits on 2500rpm, My car being only 4 speed sit on 1800rpm @ 100.
People who like some power but will buy a 4 cyl because it's cheaper on fuel in the end might use more then they think keeping up with traffic, Driving it harder as you say. Get into summer conditions and that fuel economy will be up by at least 3l/100 easy. Not so with a large car, (Brother drove to QLD last summer, A/C on Full got a full tank of 720km).

Half the new small cars don't come with options that you get standard on large cars anyway. And to top it off they give you the lights and sparkle treatment with it's under $50 for a full tank, Why because it's a 40 litre tank thats why

[Hally]

I have a 1.8 Mazda 323 Astina 95 speed manual) and a 4.0 EF Futura (4 speed auto).

I drive from Melbourne to Sydney on a regular occurance with both cars. At 110km the Mazda sits at 3500rpm and he Futura at about 2100rpm. Even though the Mazda is reving harder it still uses a lot less petrol. I get about 650km's from 45 litres in the Mazda, and 650km's from 65-68 litres in the Ford. Both always have the a/c on the whole trip.

Also, in relation to the Corolla, I think they are a horrible little car, but they are cheap!! For the last few months you can get one for $20k driveaway. Focuses, Astras etc are nearly $25k by the time you get them out of the dealership. $5k can be a big deciding factor when purchasing this type of car.

[Full Spectrum]

People are being sucked in bad.

I can get about 455km average from 66lt in a 14 year old Commodore I'll have to try it on the highway one day again.
I wouldn't be surprised if our dim Sim friends buy 50% of the corollas

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by AUII_SE_Ute

What I can't understand is why people are going for the smaller cars.

The engines need to do twice as much work as your average Falcon/Commodore to do the same thing. Meaning it uses as much fuel as a family sized car.

Well if it's like last month the corolla's numbers were fleet numbers.

[ClevlndStemer]

When my lease is up on the falcon i'll be downsizing. The falcon sucks fuel horribly (average of 12.7 l/100km) and tyres and other such replacements make it too expensive to maintain. I have no need for such a car anymore and the smaller focus/corolla/astra hatchbacks are really not that small anymore and are more viable. Fuel is a main variable when considering what car to get next. I don't see fuel getting cheaper in the long term.

[Falcon Freak]

Summary for July 2006 (July 2005 figures in brackets):

Ford - Australian manufactured vehicles

Falcon/Fairmont - 3,951 (3,784) +4.4%
Territory - 1,319 (1,641) -19.6%
Utility - 1,308 (1,283) +1.9%
Fairlane/LTD - 89 (173) -48.6%

Total - 6,667 (6,881) -3.1%

Ford - fully imported vehicles

Focus - 1,300 (915) +42.1%
Courier - 694 (609) +14.0%
Fiesta - 474 (275) +72.4%
Escape - 318 (172) +84.9%
Transit - 141 (235) -40.0%
F250 - 27 (142) -81.0%
Explorer - 3 (32) -90.6%
F350 - 2 (10) -80.0%
Econovan - 1 (67) -98.5%

Total - 2,960 (2,457) +20.5%

Local + imported = 9,627 (9,338) +3.1%

Ford's local models did well to not lose much ground considering the current market conditions but the numbers are poor compared to three years ago. Ford's imported models continue to sell well compared to last year.

As to the dark side.........

Holden - Australian manufactured vehicles

Commodore - 4,022 (5,445) -26.1%
Ute/Crewman - 1,240 (1,658) -25.2%
Adventra - 187 (380) -50.8%
Statesman/Caprice - 86 (319) -73.0%
Monaro - 60 (151) -60.3%

Total - 5,595 (7,953) -29.6%

Holden - fully imported vehicles

Astra - 1,873 (2,868) -34.7%
Rodeo - 1,370 (2,014) -32.0%
Barina - 1,196 (679) +76.1%
Viva - 865 (0) N/A
Combo - 103 (122) -15.6%
Vectra - 88 (223) -60.5%
Tigra - 37 (0) N/A
Cruze - 2 (162) -98.8%
Zafira - 0 (29) -100.0%
Jackaroo - 0 (0) N/A

Total - 5,534 (6,097) -9.2%

Local + imported = 11,129 (14,050) -20.8%

The new VE Commodore can't come soon enough as the local Holden models are well down on last year. For the imported models only the Barina showed an increase.

69% of Ford vehicles sold in July 06 are Australian made.
50% of Holden vehicles sold in July 06 are Australian made.


For July 2006 the fuel types were as follows:

Petrol - 62,783 (83.6%)
Diesel - 10,629 (14.2%)
LPG - 1,325 (1.8%)
Hybrid - 289 (0.4%)

Total - 75,026 (2,536 heavy commercial vehicles not included)

For July 2005 the fuel types were as follows:

Petrol - 66,658 (87.6%)
Diesel - 8,661 (11.4%)
LPG - 616 (0.8%)
Hybrid - 119 (0.2%)

Total - 76,054 (2,587 heavy commercial vehicles not included)

Dedicated petrol powered vehicles lost 4% of their market share. All non petrol powered segments increased sales compared with July 2005.

FF

[Fairlane]

Tough month, Ford did OK. Especially since The Mitsubishi 380 only got 826.

People are idiots, they dont understand that a 'large' only uses like 2l extra and when you start talking automatics, small cars just look stupid. Plus the parts for the Aussie 6cyl are cheaper

[Pieoter]

Originally Posted by AUII_SE_Ute

What I can't understand is why people are going for the smaller cars.

The engines need to do twice as much work as your average Falcon/Commodore to do the same thing. Meaning it uses as much fuel as a family sized car.

U can't beleive that. Look at the fuel consumption figures of small cars compared to large cars. I get 7L/100km driving around in sydney in stop start traffic and 4l/100km highway. Show me a family car that does that?

[Swaytan]

Originally Posted by AUII_SE_Ute

What I can't understand is why people are going for the smaller cars.

The engines need to do twice as much work as your average Falcon/Commodore to do the same thing. Meaning it uses as much fuel as a family sized car.

So when you & I are sitting in peak hour traffic, not moving, my 1.6 litre is working twice as hard as your V6 or V8?

Care to explain that one in more detail?

[ClevlndStemer]

Originally Posted by Fairlane

People are idiots, they dont understand that a 'large' only uses like 2l extra and when you start talking automatics, small cars just look stupid. Plus the parts for the Aussie 6cyl are cheaper

only 2l extra? riiiight...
parts are cheaper for 6cyl? where? what? who?, etc...

[Dave_au]

Mitsubishi 380 is 826. Goneskis!

[Fairlane]

Well in Auto form, small cars arent exactly economical, they are bloody bad. The manual's are alright, auto's are bad and yes the parts are cheaper. Ever tried to get parts for some of these 4cyl's like the Polo or even the Corolla; the prices are ridiculous for things like alternators, headlights etc.

The Aussie 6cyl's parts are free available and whilst be may complain about prices, they are the cheapest and most available in the business.

[Pieoter]

My friend in a auto fiesta does 8l/100km in similar driving to me. Which is still FAR FAR better than what your gonna get in a "family" car. The interior room in medium sized cars such as the focus is very good too. More than enough for a family.

[blutura]

Originally Posted by SlickHolden

People are being sucked in bad.

I can get about 455km average from 66lt in a 14 year old Commodore I'll have to try it on the highway one day again.
I wouldn't be surprised if our dim Sim friends buy 50% of the corollas

there are plenty of reasons why people are buying small cars over large, and its not just about fuel economy:

Resale
- A 2006 Corolla can be bought for $19990 - $21990, a used 2003 Corolla with 50000-60000kms on it will still fetch $16000-$18000 EASY. Thats only a 20% loss in 3 years.

- Compare that with a 2006 Falcon that sells for $34000 - $36000, and then three years later is only worth $17000-$19000 with 40000-60000kms on it. Thats a 50% loss in value in 3 years.

Size
- If you live in an unit and not a house, the garage attached to the unit is usually pretty small. I own an EL Falcon and an AW11 MR2 and I park the Falcon on the street and the MR2 in the garage simply because if the Falcon is in the garage, I can hardly move in there, let alone use the work bench of anything else.

Parking
- A lot of people find it much easier to parallel park a small car than a large one, simple as that.

Reliability
- The Corolla has its reliable reputation for good reason, the damn things are nigh on unbreakable. I haven't got any complaints about my Falcon either, its been rock solid for me, but what I'm saying is reliability is not a reason to NOT buy a small Japanese car.

And finally, fuel economy IS a good reason to buy a small car. Yes, the Falcon can get down to the 8L/100km mark on the highway, loafing along at under 2000rpm, but my MR2 (which basically has a Corolla motor) gets 7L/100km buzzing along at 3800rpm on the highway.
But more importantly, around town, if I baby the Falcon, I can get 12L/100kms, but the MR2, even when being driven in anger, still returns 9L/100kms.

Ok, so big deal you say, its only an extra 3L/100kms. Well, lets say you drive 400kms a week around town. In the Falcon, that 400kms will cost you 48L, or $67.20 if ULP is selling at $1.40/L. In the 4 banger being driven hard, it will cost you 36L, or $50.40. If you drive a bit gentler, then you'll only need 28L, for $39.20 a week.

So over a year, the Falcon will cost you $3494.40 in petrol, $873.60 more than the MR2/Corolla/4 banger being driven hard, or $1456 more than the 4 banger driven gently.

If it sounds like I'm bagging the Falcon too much I apologise. I love my Falcon, I really do, but I just wanted to point out that people are not "being sucked in bad", but are simply choosing the vehicle that meets their needs.

I know that Orion is going to be just as big as the current Falcon, if not bigger, but I really would love to see the next all new Falcon after Orion scale back a bit.

The times, they are a changin'.

[Archilino]

anyone else notice fairlane/ltd outsold statesman/caprice? expect the status quo next month with ve on sale but never the less massive drop for statesman

[Falcon Freak]

They are having massive drops everywhere. If you look at the overall figure for the first seven months to date, Ford is down 8.1% on last year whereas Holden is down 18.0% on last year.

FF

[Full Spectrum]

Originally Posted by blutura

there are plenty of reasons why people are buying small cars over large, and its not just about fuel economy:

Resale
- A 2006 Corolla can be bought for $19990 - $21990, a used 2003 Corolla with 50000-60000kms on it will still fetch $16000-$18000 EASY. Thats only a 20% loss in 3 years.

- Compare that with a 2006 Falcon that sells for $34000 - $36000, and then three years later is only worth $17000-$19000 with 40000-60000kms on it. Thats a 50% loss in value in 3 years.

Size
- If you live in an unit and not a house, the garage attached to the unit is usually pretty small. I own an EL Falcon and an AW11 MR2 and I park the Falcon on the street and the MR2 in the garage simply because if the Falcon is in the garage, I can hardly move in there, let alone use the work bench of anything else.

Parking
- A lot of people find it much easier to parallel park a small car than a large one, simple as that.

Reliability
- The Corolla has its reliable reputation for good reason, the damn things are nigh on unbreakable. I haven't got any complaints about my Falcon either, its been rock solid for me, but what I'm saying is reliability is not a reason to NOT buy a small Japanese car.

And finally, fuel economy IS a good reason to buy a small car. Yes, the Falcon can get down to the 8L/100km mark on the highway, loafing along at under 2000rpm, but my MR2 (which basically has a Corolla motor) gets 7L/100km buzzing along at 3800rpm on the highway.
But more importantly, around town, if I baby the Falcon, I can get 12L/100kms, but the MR2, even when being driven in anger, still returns 9L/100kms.

Ok, so big deal you say, its only an extra 3L/100kms. Well, lets say you drive 400kms a week around town. In the Falcon, that 400kms will cost you 48L, or $67.20 if ULP is selling at $1.40/L. In the 4 banger being driven hard, it will cost you 36L, or $50.40. If you drive a bit gentler, then you'll only need 28L, for $39.20 a week.

So over a year, the Falcon will cost you $3494.40 in petrol, $873.60 more than the MR2/Corolla/4 banger being driven hard, or $1456 more than the 4 banger driven gently.

If it sounds like I'm bagging the Falcon too much I apologise. I love my Falcon, I really do, but I just wanted to point out that people are not "being sucked in bad", but are simply choosing the vehicle that meets their needs.

I know that Orion is going to be just as big as the current Falcon, if not bigger, but I really would love to see the next all new Falcon after Orion scale back a bit.

The times, they are a changin'.

I live in a small unit but get my car in pretty good.
I still think people get the wrong idea overall on small cars, they only see small engine small light car must be cheap, It's never that simple.
I would like to see 5 guys my size get into a Corolla:P It wont run 9l/100 lol.

See i still don't think people buy them for there needs, I think they buy them to save money or not to be rude but there cheap people are tight sometimes.
People moan about cars petrol etc, But does anyone who smokes a pack a day moan about the price of smokes? Anyone that drinks Booze they don't moan about the price of beer, We got mothers out there that work with kids and pay out $50-$90 to have there kids looked after while they work They i could understand buying a small car as they would need to save money as much as they could, But average Jo only complains about fuel prices.
My mum isn't all that confidant on parking my car, But she does,Would she drive a 4cyl never she would blow them up(She has in the past) Whilst my car isn't the widest commodore out there it is... Was the longest one built, Mum mum was just driving it and sitting at the light she got rammed up there rear, He's smaller car came off second best lucky for him the tow bar wasn't on.
I see people with small cars they tend to sell them faster, Commodore and falcon owners tend to hold onto them longer, But you can never sell a car private and get anything more then 75% back on it after 2-3 years, A dealers will always go for the highest amount. But smaller cars can hold there prices better because they are cheaper. A GTS $100,000 your couldn't sell it 2 weeks later for $90,000.
Smaller cars have there place and it's not up to me to tell people not to buy them, I just believe people buy them most of them buy them because it's cheap not because it's the best for them to do what they need it to do it's cheap runs cheap.
Mate of myn works at crown, He bought a 2004 lancer, the guy moans all the time it's ball less handles crap got smashed last week hard to clean bla bla, Sell it then? No way runs good on fuel. Isn't that like saying I'll stick with this girl cause she is good in;) and cooks well?.
I better explain why i don't worry about fuel my car until this June ran 27l/100km. Even then i wasn't going on about fuel i would sit back and see people moan about running 17l/100 in a V8 and think what a moaning *****. Now it runs 14.5l/100km and i think it's the bees knees I'm happy i drive about 500km per fortnight and it's all local but I'm happy with the economy i have and I'm not doing great financially but i wouldn't consider a smaller car, I might consider a Ute but thats about it.