VFACTS: Market plunges again in October

THE Australian new-vehicle market has sustained another drop in monthly sales, with October down 5.3 per cent on the corresponding record month last year, pushing it even closer to its first annual decrease since 2014.

 

According to VFACTS data released today, 90,718 units were sold in October, taking the year-to-date total to 971,723 units (-1.3%). As such, the one-million mark will be reached for the ninth consecutive year in the next week or so.

 

New-vehicle buyers continued to abandon traditional passenger cars (27,802 units, -23.6%) in favour of trendier SUVs (39,849, +8.1%) in October, while sales of light-commercial vehicles (19,286, +1.0%) were relatively steady.

 

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber stressed that “the market is broadly holding firm, despite evolving consumer preferences demonstrated through the shift from passenger vehicles to SUVs”.

 

“Given the slowing housing market and the current drought, the overall result demonstrates the resilience of Australia’s competitive automotive market,” he said.

 

Mitsubishi continued to climb up the sales ladder in October, finishing in fourth position on the back of a strong overall performance (6217 units, +12.0%) spurred on by its ASX small SUV (1739) and Triton mid-size ute (1650), which claimed eighth and ninth position among the best-selling models for the month.

 

Eighth-placed Kia grew its sales by 7.7 per cent, to 4583 units, thanks to handy returns from the recently facelifted Sportage mid-size SUV (1216, +20.6%) and the segment-leading Picanto micro hatch (370, +48.0%).

 

Mazda was the only other top-10 brand to record an increase in sales (8172 units, +1.5%), returning to second position after the fourth-placed Mazda3 small car (2094, +6.7%) found success and Australia’s favourite SUV, the Mazda CX-5, grabbed sixth position with 2000 new homes (-8.0%).

 

Sixth-placed Holden was unable to stunt its negative momentum in October, with its sales falling by a whopping 32.0 per cent, to 5256 units, as its mid-size Commodore car (663, -72.6%) and Equinox SUV (300) struggled to make an impact.

 

Third-placed Hyundai also suffered a significant loss of sales, down 15.5 per cent to 7432 units, with its i30 small car (2049, -48.6%) single-handedly responsible for the fall, although it still managed to claim fifth position among the best-selling models.

 

Fifth-placed Ford (5362 units, -7.3%) and 10th-placed Nissan (4241, -7.1%) struggled despite the former’s Ranger mid-size ute (3511, +14.2%) and latter’s X-Trail mid-size SUV (1644, -6.7%) being the second and 10th best-selling models.

 

The Blue Oval’s decline was led by its Focus small car (104 units, -79.1%), which is currently in runout, while the Japanese brand’s own mid-size ute, the Navara (1124, -15.7%), conceded ground.

 

Volkswagen and Subaru rounded out the top 10 in seventh and ninth position respectively, with the former’s sales down 2.1 per cent, to 4835 units, the latter’s volume shrunk by 6.4 per cent, to 4370 units.

 

Subaru’s Forester mid-size SUV (1792 units, +81.6%) did make a rare appearance, however, among the best-selling models, locking down seventh position, but it was not enough to stem the bleeding caused by its Impreza small car sibling (546, -44.7%).

 

Conversely, Volkswagen’s Golf small car (1418 units, -21.6%) failed to crack the top 10, but its Polo light hatch (708, +47.8%) did show signs of life.

 

Once again, market leader Toyota exerted its dominance in the declining market, with its 17,811 sales (-0.1%) propped up by the first-placed HiLux mid-size ute (4401, +7.6%) and third-placed Corolla small car (2663, -4.4%).

 

Honda finished outside of the top 10, sustaining the second largest decrease in sales (3067 units, -20.7%) among the leading brands, with its critical Civic small car (728, -41.2%) accounting for the majority of the lost volume.

 

Mercedes-Benz Cars (2166 units, -14.0%) continued to lead fellow luxury brands Audi (1734, -13.4%) and BMW (1702, -4.5%) in October.

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