Car sales were down in all states and territories except Tasmania last month, with national sales down 3.1 per cent.
Releasing the October 2013 VFACTS report Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber said the figures show private sales have increased 4.4 per cent compared to the same month last year, while business sales fell 10.5 per cent and government sales fell 7.8 per cent.
“The October data leads us to conclude there is still confusion in the market following the previous government’s FBT proposal. It is hard to have any other explanation for the 3.1 per cent fall in the automotive market, particularly given a number of positive economic indicators across the broader economy in recent weeks,” Mr Weber said.
“I want people to know the FBT system has reverted to the status quo that existed before 16 July.”
Treasurer Joe Hockey reaffirmed this today in a media conference and release on tax measures. This follows then Coalition Finance spokesperson Andrew Robb’s 9 September media release advising the FBT change was ‘dead, buried and cremated’ and Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s post-election letter to the people that said confidence can return to the car industry with the certainty that Labor’s proposed FBT changes will not apply.
Releasing the October 2013 VFACTS report, Mr Weber said sales of SUVs continued to rise—up 1.7 per cent compared to sales in October 2012 and 8.1 per cent compared to the same year-to-date period last year.
“Private sales of light commercials rose significantly, up 31.6 per cent compared to October 2012; however, total light commercial sales fell 5.9 per cent,” Mr Weber said.
Toyota was the top selling brand in the October market with 18,129 vehicles sold, followed by Holden (10,528), Hyundai (8,130), Mazda (7,967) and Ford (7,486).
The Toyota Corolla was the top selling car in October (3,861), followed by the Mazda3 (3,613) Holden Commodore (3,315), Toyota Hilux (3,172) and Hyundai i30 (2,379)
The Australian-made Holden Commodore, Toyota Camry and Holden Cruze were all in the top ten for sales.
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