According to the peak industry body of the automotive industry, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), new vehicle sales reached a total of 99,442 vehicles during March. This represents a decrease of 7,546 vehicles sales, or 7.1 per cent, on the same period in 2018.
Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, said that current economic conditions had contributed to the market’s position.
“We are seeing a cautious consumer approach at the moment, and this is not surprising given the number of economic headwinds in the Australian market,” Weber said.
The three top selling vehicles for the month confirmed the market’s appetite for light commercial vehicles, with the Toyota HiLux reporting 4,527 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger with 3,721 sales, and the Mitsubishi Triton which registered 2,666 sales.
Of the top 10 vehicles sold in March, only three were passenger vehicles, further illustrating the growth of SUVs and LCVs in the Australian market. In total, SUVs and LCVs represented 67.5 per cent of new vehicle sales in the Australian market during March. This is 4.5 percentage points higher than March 2018.
On a year to date basis, the industry reported 268,538 sales across all segments, down 7.9 per cent. Individual segments included:
Passenger Vehicle segment (84,200 vehicles – down 17.8 per cent),
SUV (118,892 vehicles – down 3.5 per cent),
Light Commercial segment (57,128 vehicles – down 0.4 per cent).
From a state-based perspective, South Australia and Tasmania showed solid growth with increased new vehicle sales of 9.4 and 6.2 per cent respectively for the month. All other states and territories showed a decline in vehicle sales during March.
For more information contact:
Lenore Fletcher
Director Communications and Emerging Technologies
FCAI
0408 320 797
[email protected]
www.fcai.com.au