Ford Australia’s new $A500 million Falcon – this week voted Australia best family car by a jury of state motoring organisations – failed to fire during its first month on sale, writes Mike Duffy.
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The BA Falcon was outsold at a rate of two to one by Holden’s new VY Commodore which proved an instant hit.
The first-month tally between the traditional big car rivals was Commodore 9,667, Falcon 5252 – a status quo which has been familiar for some time.
The VY’s first-up performance helped the GM affiliate achieve its highest October sales for 29 years.
Commodore’s tally put Holden on track to push sales for 2002 to a record 180,000-plus level – eclipsing the previous high mark of 173,854 which has stood since 1973.
A total of 72,332 cars and commercials were sold in Australia during the month – 9% or 6,298 more than the same month last year – supporting the theory that the Australian economy is still fit and well.
The year to date tally of 684,761 vehicles is 8.2% or 51,873 units up on last year and now the record of 807,669 looks a racing certainty to be broken.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive, Peter Sturrock said: “The industry is clearly headed for an all-time record sales year and on the basis of the October result the chamber is standing by its previous prediction of 820,000 sales by year’s end.
“Buyers have been tempted by a wide range of exciting new products…and that, combined with continued low interest rates and strong economic growth, is driving vehicle sales to new heights.”
Holden’s executive director of sales and marketing Ross McKenzie said the car maker was on target for record sales – well in excess of 180,000 cars and commercials.
VY Commodore’s instant success was the 61st month the car had headed the market.
Falcon relatively meagre sales were made up of about half the new BA and half the superseded AUIII.
However, Ford remains confident the new car in time will challenge Commodore.
Ford’s general manager of communications Louise Teesdale said: “Our two new engine lines were slow to ramp up to optimum production and that cost us a substantial number of cars.
“However, buyer interest in showrooms has been overwhelming and we anticipate a much better sales result in November.
“The best family car award has given BA Falcon a terrific boost and we are confident this will translate to sales.”
Holden was the top selling car brand in October with 16,797 units ahead of Toyota on 14,257 and Ford on 9,634.
On a year-to-date basis Holden led the field with 150,092 units – a margin of more than 20,000 over Toyota and 60,000 on Ford.
Top 10 selling cars in Australia January-October:
1 Holden Commodore 73,213
2 Ford Falcon 42,381
3 Toyota Corolla 28,797
4 Toyota Camry 24,723
5 GM Holden Astra 23,157
6 Mitsubishi Magna 19,321
7 Mitsubishi Lancer 15,269
8 Hyundai Accent 15,050
9 Nissan Pulsar 13,798
10 Mazda 323 12,877
Top selling Australian car makers October:
1 Holden 16,797 23.2%
2 Toyota 14,257 19.7%
3 Ford 9,634 13.3%
4 Mitsubishi 6,092 8.4%
5 Nissan 4,083 5.6%
6 Mazda 3,603 5.0%
7 Subaru 2,361 3.3%
8 Hyundai 2,007 2.8%
9 Mercedes 1,763 2.4%
10 Honda 1,717 2.4%
