New-car sales in Victoria have dropped again in July, while Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia displayed resilience, VFACTS figures released today have shown.
Australia’s second-largest state by population only entered a stringent stage-four lockdown from August, but with the incidence of new COVID-19 cases increasing rapidly with every passing day during July it was clear to consumers that this was no time to be buying a new car
Sales in Victoria had fallen by 13.6 per cent in June – marking the difference between an EoFY sales period during a pandemic and the same period in 2019, before covid-19 reached local shores. The sales drop in June was unusually high, even so, when New South Wales recorded a slump of just 7.7 per cent in June, year on year, and the market as a whole showed signs of life.
The sales figure for Victoria last month was 27.8 per cent down. Tasmania was the only other state or territory in Australia to record a double-digit percentage reduction in July, down 22.6 per cent.
Sales of 17,487 vehicles in Victoria during the month marked a shortfall of nearly 7000 units on July 2019 (24,230 sales).
“Nationally, more than 72,505 vehicles were sold during the month, and this represents a decrease of 12.8 per cent on July 2019, when sales totalled 83,184,” said Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries).
“On a year to date basis, there were 514,920 vehicles sold to July 2020, which represents a decrease of 19.2 per cent on the same period in 2019, when sales totalled 637,650 vehicles.
“The Australian automotive industry, like many sectors in the Australian market, continues to face challenging and difficult conditions, exacerbated by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The extended Stage 4 Restrictions which have now been invoked in Australia’s second-largest market, Victoria, will no doubt further challenge the industry during the coming months,” Weber was quoted as saying in a press release.
Toyota remained Australia’s most popular brand in July, selling 15,508 vehicles for the month. Following at a distance was Mazda (7806 sales), Mitsubishi (4684), Hyundai (4634) and Kia (4625 sales).
Amongst the winners in July were emerging Chinese brands MG, Great Wall and Haval, up +59%, +42% and +139% respectively, while Jeep sales increased +20%, buoyed by its go-anywhere Gladiator and Wrangler.
Audi sales surged +53% thanks to the A1, A3, Q3 and Q7, while prestige rival Volvo achieved a +23% increase through more sales of its new S60 and V60 models.
It was a mixed month for Mercedes-Benz, with sales of its cars down -8.5% but sales of its vans up +41%.
Prestige and exotic brands such as Maserati (+66%), Lamborghini (+140%), McLaren (+100%), Alfa Romeo (+67%), and Rolls Royce (+33.3%) also bucked the wider market trend to post big improvement.
Sports Utility Vehicles remain the most popular class of vehicle, accounting for 50.4 per cent of the market last month. Light commercial vehicles represented 20.5 per cent of the market, and passenger vehicle sales contribute 25 per cent. The continuing decline in passenger-car market share is possibly due in part to the government’s focus on the Instant Asset Write-off to stimulate the sector of the economy buying commercial vehicles.
The Toyota RAV4 ascended to the top of the sales chart for the first time in its history, with over 4300 sales in July, while the Ford Ranger leapfrogged the Toyota HiLux into the second position.
Two Mazda SUVs feature in the top 10, with the Japanese brand achieving over 3000 combined sales of its CX-3 and CX-5 models.
Top 10 brands for the year to date:
Toyota – 113,237
Mazda – 46,653
Hyundai – 35,421
Mitsubishi – 33,470
Ford – 32,224
Kia – 31,083
Volkswagen – 23,305
Nissan – 21,599
Honda – 18,728
Subaru – 17,821
Top 10 vehicles for the month:
Toyota RAV4 – 4309
Ford Ranger – 3104
Toyota HiLux – 2947
Toyota Corolla – 2192
Hyundai i30 – 1745
Mazda CX-5 – 1727
Mitsubishi Triton – 1593
Mazda CX-3 – 1355
Toyota Camry – 1281
Mazda3 – 1224
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