Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed that 75,650 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in March 2009 – down 17.1% (15,635 vehicles) compared to the same month in 2008.
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“This result is certainly down on a year ago but the extent of the fall in the market appears to have stabilised somewhat in recent months,” FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar said.
Year-to-date, 212,970 new vehicles have been sold, down 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
“Given the impact of the global economic downturn, new vehicle sales for the first quarter of 2009 are around the level we would expect them to be,” he said.
“Around the world the automotive industry has been disproportionately affected by the impact of the financial crisis and resultant economic downturn. We can take some comfort from the fact that the Australian new vehicle market has performed far better than those in almost all other developed economies.” McKellar said.
Toyota was Australia’s best-selling brand in March with 16,608 vehicles (22.0% market share) followed by Holden with 9,188 (12.1%) and Ford with 7,570 vehicle sales (10.0%).
Year-to-date, Toyota led the market with 44,309 vehicles sold, followed by Holden with 26,979 and Ford with 20,986 vehicles.
