According to figures released today by The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the Australian new car market fell 9.6 per cent in June when compared to the same month last year.

 

Sales for June totalled 117,817 units, with the year to date total now sitting at 554,466, which represents an overall drop of 8.4 per cent. Incidentally, June’s result marks 15 successive months of decline.

 

Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI said the June result reflects the tough market conditions and highlights the sensitive nature of the new vehicle market.

 

“Over the past six months we have seen various conditions and circumstances which adversely affected the market. These include a tightening of financial lending, environmental factors such as drought and flood, and a strongly contested federal election.

 

“In addition, the continuing incursion of Luxury Car Tax on a federal level, and now in some cases on a state level as well, is a major disincentive. It could just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the new car buyer,” Mr Weber said.

 

Compared to June 2018, passenger cars fell by 7697 sales (-18.5%), SUVs were down by 2653 sales (-4.7%), while light commercials dropped 1974 sales (-7.0%).

 

SUVs continue to hold the largest slice of the market accounting for a whopping 45.4 per cent of sales.

 

Despite a drop of 8.5 per cent, Toyota was again the market leader in June, followed by Mazda and Hyundai. Toyota led Mazda with a margin of 10,394 vehicle sales and 8.8 market share points.

 

All the markets heavy hitters fell, Mazda was down 13.3 per cent, Hyundai fell 4.2 per cent and Mitsubishi was down 13.1 per cent.

 

Holden managed to cling to a top ten spot even though it was down a massive 34.8 per cent. That darn lion is refusing to roar.

 

Of the top ten, only Kia recorded growth. The Korean marque secured 7200 sales representing a 1.9 per cent improvement.

 

Looking at the smaller brands, MG is the big mover selling 1014 cars to sit at number 18 on the sales chart.

 

Moving to the premium brands, Audi fell a whopping 45.9 per cent (1098), Mercedes-Benz declined 10.4 per cent (3377) and BMW dropped 5.0 per cent (2505). Lexus recorded 970 sales for a 0.9 per cent drop.

  

The most popular vehicle was the Toyota HiLux with 5396 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger (4851) and Hyundai i30 (3343).

 

 

Toyota HiLux - 5396

Ford Ranger - 4851

Hyundai i30 - 3343

Toyota Corolla - 3137

Mazda CX-5 - 2911

Kia Cerato - 2832

Mitsubishi Triton - 2695

Mazda 3 - 2533

Toyota RAV4 - 2449

Toyota LandCruiser - 2360

 

 

Toyota - 21,200

Mazda - 10,806

Hyundai - 10,001

Mitsubishi - 8891

Kia - 7200

Ford - 7155

Honda - 6232

Volkswagen - 5793

Nissan - 5514

Holden - 4817