Sales of new vehicles in an Australia reached record levels last month.
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The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said buyers apparently are still undeterred by recent rises in interest rates.
The FCAI VFACTS figures showed April sales up 11.2% year on year to 84,061 cars, trucks and buses.
“While the April result was boosted by the early timing of Easter, which fell in March, the underlying sales trend remains notably strong and resilient,” said FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar.
Year-to-date sales are up 5.1% on the record year of 2007.
“Private motorists are buying cars at the same rate as last year (up 0.6% YTD) and business purchases have risen by 12.6% so far this year,” McKellar added. “The FCAI forecast of 1m vehicle sales this year remains firm.”
The main drivers of market growth last month were small cars, sports utility vehicles and light trucks.
The small car segment rose 3,603 units or 24.0% over April last year, while the medium car segment (up 755 or 11.4%) and the light car segment (up 505 of 5.3%) also contributed.
Light truck sales grew 3,077 or 22.6%, with the pick-up/cab-chassis (PU/CC) 4×4 and PU/CC 4×2 segments adding 1,403 and 922 sales respectively.
The van segment also grew by 686 vehicles or 42.7%.
Toyota remained the top-selling brand in April with 24.8% of the market, followed by Holden with 12.1% and Ford with 9.8%.
So far this year Toyota leads the sales race with 81,062 ahead of General Motors’ Holden (44,037) and Ford (34,533).
