Official VFACTS data released on Friday (4 January) by Australia’s Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed 1,112,032 new passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were delivered in 2012, setting a new record.
This was also only the fifth time over 1m vehicles were sold in a year. The 2012 tally was up 10.3% year on year.
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FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the 2012 full year result was quite a feat in a world market that has been under financial pressure in recent years. It also reflects that the Australian market is one of the most open and competitive in the world.
“Reduced tariffs as well as changing consumer preferences have contributed to making the dynamic and innovative automotive industry that we have today,” Weber said.
“The 2012 sales result bears that out. Customer demand has been high and the industry has responded with a wide range of vehicles powered by a range of different fuels.”
The record result was also notable because of changing consumer preferences reflected in the segments’ changing market share. The single largest category was still the passenger car segment (51.9%) but the burgeoning SUV segment increased its market share by 3.3% to 27.5% with an all-time sales record set in 2012.
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By GlobalData“For the second successive year, a small imported car, the Mazda3, is Australia’s most popular model,” Weber said. “The same vehicles as 2011 also hold the top five spots but in a different order.
“And three of the top 10 are also built locally, dispelling any suggestion that our domestic manufacturers aren’t producing cars that Australians want to buy.”
Sales results
Toyota was the best-selling vehicle brand in 2011, with 218,176 sales for a market share of 19.6%.
Holden and Mazda finished second and third with 114,665 sales (10.3%) and 103,886 (9.3%) respectively.
The Mazda3 was the best-selling model for the full year, beating the Toyota HiLux by 3,482 vehicles to finish with 44,128 sales.
The Toyota Corolla was third with 38,799 sales, followed by General Motors‘ Holden Commodore (30,532) and Cruze (29,161).
The SUV and light commercial segments led the sales charge throughout 2012, growing by 25.3% and 12.2% respectively.
Looking forward
Weber said FCAI’s outlook for 2013 was cautiously optimistic.
“In 2012 Australia thankfully avoided much of the GFC aftermath and, with production resuming in disaster affected nations, the automotive industry was able to respond to the enthusiasm of the car buying public with great deals on an almost overwhelming range of vehicles. The record 2012 result was the culmination of these factors.
“During this election year, and with production now having caught up with back orders, FCAI forecasts a national automotive market of 1,075,000 for 2013.”
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