Over 1 million new cars have been sold in Australia this year, with national sales for November 2014 reaching 92,232.
While sales for the year are down 2.2 per cent, the FCAI expects full-year (2014) sales to top 1.1 million.
Releasing the November 2014 VFACTS figures, FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said that with only a month to go in 2014, the race was on to see which popular small car would be Australia’s number one seller.
“Only 679 sales separate the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda3. While the Toyota Corolla is ahead in sales for 2014, the Mazda3 was the top selling vehicle in November,” Mr Weber said.
Mr Weber said the softening of the economy appears to be having an effect on sales in all states and territories, with all regions showing declines compared to sales in November 2013.
“Overall, sales across the nation are down 4.8 per cent for the month. In particular, sales fell significantly in the mining states of Queensland and Western Australia, with sales down 8.5 and 9.6 per cent, respectively,” Mr Weber said.
Sales fell 7.5 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory, 7 per cent in Northern Territory, 16.8 per cent in Tasmania, 4.6 per cent in Victoria, 5.3 per cent in South Australia and only 0.3 per cent in New South Wales.
Mr Weber said SUV sales continue to be strong, with 7.3 per cent more SUVs sold in November 2014 than in November 2013. “Small and medium SUVs showed large growth, increasing 17.7 and 19.3 per cent, respectively, on November 2013 sales figures,” he said.
Passenger car sales fell 12.2 per cent and light commercial vehicle sales fell 4.9 per cent, compared to November 2013.
“While Government purchases have generally increased this year, in November, sales to Government fell 11.4 per cent. Private sales also took a hit, with sales down 7.9 per cent. Business purchases continued to fall, with sales down 3.4 per cent,” Mr Weber said.
The Mazda3 was the top selling vehicle in November 2014 with 3,499 vehicles sold. It was followed by the Toyota Corolla (3,264), Toyota Hilux (2,920), Hyundai i30 (2,886) and Holden Commodore (2,200).
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