Banner image for Media Releases

Media Releases

2018 sales Pass the One Million Mark as Flat Market Persists

National motor vehicle sales eclipsed the one million year-to-date sales mark during November 2018, in a month which overall sales were down according to the latestdata released today by the motor industry’s statistical service, VFACTS.

National vehicle sales for November reached 93,860, down 7.4 per cent from November 2017. The overall market decline for the month was once again led by falling passenger car sales, at 29,250 or 20.8 per cent lower in November 2018 compared to the corresponding month last year.

The flat conditions were also reflected in SUV sales, which fell by 1.9 per cent across the segment, which accounted for 42.6 per cent of the market in November 2018 and 42.9 per cent of the market year to date. However, light commercial vehicle sales grew by 4.2 per cent in November 2018.

Year-to-date sales across the market are currently at 1,065,583, which is a 1.9 per cent decline from the same period in the record 2017 sales year.

Once again Tasmania bucked the sales trend compared to November 2017, with a 2.0 per cent increase. The remaining States and Territories fell as follows: New South Wales (-11.6%), Victoria (-7.0%), Queensland (-2.6%), Western Australia (-9.0%), South Australia (-2.4%), the ACT (-7.8%) and the Northern Territory (-6.2%).

November 2018 sales were down across most buyer types, however SUV sales increased by 20.5 per cent to government, and by 14.9 per cent to rental purchasers. There were also increases in light commercial sales for the month to private (+4.0%) and business (+5.5%) purchasers.

Tony Weber, the Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, acknowledged the ongoing flat market conditions. Mr. Weber said “The November 2018 sales reflect tougher conditions across the economy.”

The Toyota Hilux was the highest selling vehicle in November 2018 with sales of 4671, followed by the Ford Ranger (3469), the Toyota Corolla (2659), the Mitsubishi Triton (2404) and the Hyundai i30 (2378).

59 WENTWORTH AVENUE KINGSTON ACT 2604

Toyota led the market in sales volume for November 2018 with 19.5 per cent of the total market, followed by Mazda (9.5%), Hyundai (8.4%), Mitsubishi (7.4%) and Ford (5.9%).

Key Points:

  • The November 2018 market of 93,860 new vehicle sales is a decrease of 7,505 vehicle sales or -7.4% on November 2017 (101,365) vehicle sales. November 2018 (25.7) had the same number of selling days as November 2017 and this resulted in a decrease of 292 vehicle sales per day.

  • The Passenger Vehicle Market is down by 7,679 vehicle sales (-20.8%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market is down by 765 vehicle sales (-1.9%); the Light Commercial Market is up by 841 vehicle sales (4.2%); and the Heavy Commercial Vehicle Market is up by 98 vehicle sales (3.5%) versus November 2017.

  • Toyota was market leader in November, followed by Mazda and Hyundai. Toyota led Mazda with a margin of 9,366 vehicle sales and 10.0 market share points.

VFACTS monthly vehicle sales data is available at noon on the third working day after the end of every month. Select data and media releases on the sales results are available at www.fcai.com.au

For more information, contact:
Leigh Obradovic,
Director, Policy
FCAI
02 6229 8216 / 0438 274 833
[email protected]