Australia’s
car industry, crippled by a strike which has halted assembly by three of the four
local makers, received further bad news today when July figures showed a major
slump in sales, writes Mike Duffy.
Official figures, released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries,
showed sales plunged 13,264 vehicles or 16.7% on the same month last year, suggesting
an 800,000-plus 2001 car market might be highly optimistic.
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The same month last year was the highest July on record, boosted significantly
by cheaper prices under the then new goods and services tax.
But this July was still a long way off what most analysts were predicting.
Stock shortages of popular models resulting from the strike are sure to produce
an extraordinarily poor month in August.
So while the year-to-date tally of 441,261 cars and commercials is ahead of
last year by 8,321 units or 1.9%, the market is expected to fall behind when
August sales are audited.
Holden, GM’s Australian arm, continues to dominate with 15,290 sales for
23% of the market.
Toyota once again was a distant second with 11,934 (18%) and Ford trailed in
third place with 9,765 registrations or 14.8% of the market.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia, which this week received approval for an $A70
million facelift model which guarantees its position as a manufacturer until
at least 2005, had an ordinary month with 5,729 sales for 8.7% market share.
Year-to-date, Holden leads with 94,363 sales for 21.4% of the national market,
Toyota is second on 77,660 units for 17.6%, Ford is third on 61,003 vehicles
(13.8%) and Mitsubishi fourth on 39,389 units (8.9%).
Holden’s Commodore continues to rule as the runaway best seller with 7,549
sales in July taking the year-to-date total to 49,784.
This compares with 5,027 Ford Falcon sales for an annual total of 29,971 units.
Mitsubishi’s Magna/Verada range could find only 2,138 new owners, compared
with 2,841 Toyota Camry.
In the small car segment, Holden’s Astra once more outsold the Toyota Corolla
and now is a paltry 64 units behind for the year – 15,813 to 15,877 – with market
leadership looking a formality at the end of the current month.
All segments returned losses against their July 2000 result.
- Light – down 3,120 (-20.2%)
- Small – down 2,100 (-12.5%).
- Medium – down 1,450 (-27.1%).
- Large – down 3,802 (-18.7%).
- Prestige – down 1,158 units (-30.5%).
- Luxury – down 748 (-28.7%).
- People Mover (minivan) – down 501 (-36.2%).
- Sports – down 93 (-11.5%).
Big spending Renault has been getting a good response to its product line-up
since its latest re-entry to Australia, but managed only 217 sales.
Similarly, Rover had no reason to party with just 52 sales of its highly-specified
75s the net return for its big spending advertising campaign.
Author Mike Duffy is motoring editor of The Advertiser and the Sunday Mail,
Adelaide, South Australia.
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