New car sales data for February has been released.
There are not many surprises but there was a turning point in consumer choice. For the first time SUVs have outsold passenger vehicles.
It was inevitable that SUV sales would overtake those of passenger cars. SUV sales have been growing for some time. In many instances, SUVs represent better value for money than the sedan equivalent.
SUVs totalled 35,497 sales during February, leading to record a 39.9 per cent market share. Passenger cars totalled 34,740 for a 39.0 per cent market share.
Interestingly, sales for the month were down by 7.7 per cent year-on-year. The Chief Executive of the FCAI, Tony Weber said, “It’s important to look at sales results in the proper context because February 2016 was an unusually strong month. It included one extra selling day and saw a lot of activity in the market. This resulted in a 6.7 per cent surge over February 2015.”
A total of 89,025 registrations were recorded.
Other aspects of the February figures were mostly business as usual. Toyota continues to sit at the top with the HiLux and Corolla continuing to strike the right note with Aussie buyers. With the arrival of the C-HR, Toyota will be leading the race for a while yet.
Mazda continue to do well, the CX-5 remained the best-selling SUV. The new model is close and will give the Japanese brand the firepower to hold off the challenge from Hyundai.
Mitsubishi narrowly moved into fourth spot, pushing Holden down. The former sales leader is on a downhill run that looks likely to persist as the locally made Commodore winds up.
Nissan also went backwards, some of its models are in need of freshening up.
Top 10 selling brands in February 2017
1. Toyota – 16,308
2. Mazda – 9923
3. Hyundai – 7001
4. Mitsubishi – 5758
5. Holden – 5724
6. Ford – 5669
7. Volkswagen – 4618
8. Nissan – 4425
9. Kia – 4174
10. Subaru – 3746
Top 10 selling models in February 2017
1. Toyota Corolla – 3392
2. Toyota HiLux – 3386
3. Mazda3 – 3143
4. Ford Ranger – 2931
5. Hyundai i30 – 2003
6. Mitsubishi Triton – 1990
7. Mazda CX-5 – 1933
8. Toyota RAV4 – 1726
9. Hyundai Tucson – 1596
10. Holden Commodore – 1566
Let’s start a Car Conversation, what do you think are the highlights and lowlights of February’s sales figures?
