The prospects of the Australian automotive industry topping 1m sales again this year have been boosted by a strong performance in November.
According to VFACTS figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, 88,654 cars, trucks and buses were sold last month – an improvement of 1.5% over November last year.
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This was the second-highest November month on record, surpassed only by the 92,801 sales result in 2007.
Total sales for the year to date are running 2.4% or 23,009 vehicles behind the same period last year.
FCAI chief executive Ian Chalmers said while the total for 2011 will finish down on 2010, it is still likely to be a very good overall result for the automotive industry.
“For the past four months in a row sales have been trending above the same period for 2010. This suggests improving consumer confidence in Australia’s economic prospects,” Chalmers said.
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By GlobalData“Many car brands have been proactive in appealing to car buyers by offering lower prices, improved equipment and low finance rates. Consumers are responding positively to the value that is widely on offer.”
Chalmers said the November sales result might have been even better if not for supply constraints which affected some brands.
“The flood in Thailand which continues to affect some car factories located there and the lingering after-effects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami have played a part in limiting supplies of some popular models.”
The best-selling brand in November was Toyota with 17,436 followed by Holden with 9,761 and Ford with 8,103.
Toyota’s Corolla was Australia’s best-selling car in November, attracting 3,731 customers, followed by the Mazda 3 (3,480) and Toyota HiLux (3,332).
Market growth in November was also driven by the continued rise in the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
SUV Compact sales were up 12.6% and SUV medium sales were 16.8% higher than the same month last year.
SUV large volumes were up 5.4% and SUV luxury sales boomed by 36.1%.
Other segments which enjoyed growth in November were small (+1.4%) and medium (+2.3) passenger cars, sports cars (+1.9), 4×4 utilities (+6.7) and light buses (+41.3).
“Assuming the current trends carry through December we are confident that total annual sales will exceed 1m for only the fourth time in Australia’s history,” Chalmers said.
