Industry sales record expected for June

NEW-VEHICLE registration figures to be released tomorrow are tipped to show that June 2013 was the biggest sales month in Australian automotive history.

Preliminary figures seen by GoAuto show that market leader Toyota sold in excess of 22,000 vehicles last month, driving industry sales beyond June 2012’s record of 112,566 sales.

Official VFACTS figures to be handed down by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries at midday are also expected to show a strong second-place showing from local hero Holden with around 10,500 sales, and all-time sales records for several key importers after manic end-of-financial-year advertising campaigns.

Early figures show it’s tight at the top, with a hair-breadth of separation between Mazda (around 9600 sales), Mitsubishi (9250) and Nissan (9228). It is unclear how many cars Hyundai sold, although the figure is understood to be close to 10,000, and higher than Mazda.

Mazda, however, is expected to remain in second place year-to-date.

Toyota is again expected to claim the top-two individual-selling models, with the HiLux pushing 5000 units and the Corolla extending its lead as the nation’s favourite car with around 4200 sales. The Mazda3, which early next year will be replaced with a new-generation model, sold around 3700 units.

Nissan has already announced an internal estimate of 9228 sales in June, its highest figure ever, while fellow Japanese company Mitsubishi says it sold around 9250 cars last month, its highest figure since it manufactured cars here.

Both brands relied on strong results for new passenger lines – Pulsar (2331) and Mirage (1503) respectively, plus strong showing for their established Navara (around 2650) and Triton ute (almost 3500) ranges.

Holden’s strong, circa-10,500 figure came on the back of imported commercials (Colorado, with around 1900 sales) and SUVs (Captiva 5 and Captiva 7, with about 2250 sales combined), rather than its locally made stable.

Both Cruze (2378) and Commodore (2147) sales are expected to be lower in June 2013 than last year. It is understood transport delays affected sales of the upgraded VF Commodore launched last month with much fanfare.

Kia is understood to have fallen around 300 units to about 3100 last month compared to June last year, while Volkswagen is also believed to have experienced a sales fall (from 6446 last year to around 5100 this year), possibly due to negative press coverage in recent weeks.