The automotive industry reports more than 81,000 new vehicle sales in January
January 2019 signaled a cautious start to the year for new vehicle sales in Australia, according to results released today by the motor industry’s statistical service, VFACTS. A total of 81,994 new vehicles were sold during the month, down 7.4 per cent on the same period in 2018.
Tony Weber, CEO of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) attributed the results to lower levels of consumer confidence.
“The current economic environment is a challenging one, with an imminent federal election, a declining real estate market and tighter lending practices.
“However, Australia’s love affair with SUVs continues. January was a solid sales period for these vehicles, with the segment claiming 43.8 per of total market sales.
“Passenger sales were strong in the small car segment, with the Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30 leading the pack,” Mr Weber said.
During January, the top three brands were Toyota leading the market with 19.5 per cent market share and 15,961 sales, followed by Mazda in second place with 11.6 per cent market share and 9,490 sales. In third place was Mitsubishi with 8.1 per cent market share and 6,669 sales.
Key Points:
• The January 2019 market of 81,994 new vehicle sales is a decrease of 6,557 vehicle sales or -7.4% on January 2018 (88,551) vehicle sales. January 2019 (25) had the same number of selling days as January 2018 and this resulted in a decrease of 262.3 vehicle sales per day.
• The Passenger Vehicle Market is down by 3,810 vehicle sales (-12.0%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market is down by 1,949 vehicle sales (-5.1%); the Light Commercial Market is down by 967 vehicle sales (-5.8%); and the Heavy Commercial Vehicle Market is up by 169 vehicle sales (8.3%) versus January 2018.
• Toyota was market leader in January, followed by Mazda and Mitsubishi. Toyota led Mazda with a margin of 6,471 vehicle sales and 7.9 market share points.
