Australian & New Zealand May 2007 Sales Results: Commodore Leads Record Sales Race

[JoeT]

Australian May 2007 Car Sales Results

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
5 June 2007
www.fcai.com.au

Family Car Sales Drive Record Motor Vehicle Market.

Resurgent sales of Large cars and Sports Utility Vehicles have kept the Australian motor vehicle market on its record path.

Official sales figures for May released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 88,597 vehicles were sold - an increase of 5140 or 6.2 per cent over May last year.

The figures show that, for the year to date, the motor vehicle market is now up 32,567 vehicles or 8.4 per cent over the same period of 2005.

May sales of family-sized Large cars increased by 1020 vehicles or 9.3 per cent over the same month last year while Upper large sales grew by 284 or 52.0 per cent.

"It's encouraging to see a consolidation in the Large and Upper Large segments which reflects both the introduction of exciting new product and the response of brands to the competitive challenges of the market," said FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar.

Large cars sales are now up 5.4 per cent so far this year, while the Medium passenger car segment - which includes the Australian-made Toyota Camry - was up 6.6 per cent in May and 5.0 per cent year-to-date.

The SUV Market was up 2096 vehicles or 14.1 per cent in May, driven in particular by new model activity in the SUV Compact segment, which was up 1643 or 26.3 per cent.

"The resurgence in sales of SUVs and Large cars demonstrates that family-sized vehicles continue to meet the preferences of a significant number of Australian consumers because they suit their lifestyles and transport requirements," said Andrew McKellar.

"There remains a substantial and legitimate market for these kinds of vehicles - and there always will be."

Sales of Small and Light cars levelled off in May, falling 1.0 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

Toyota was the top-selling motor vehicle brand in May with 19,371 ahead of Holden (12,902) and Ford (9571).

Year-to-date Toyota leads with 21.9 per cent share of the market ahead of Holden (14.8 per cent) and Ford (10.5 per cent).

Mazda (7.7 per cent), Nissan (6.3), Mitsubishi (6.1) and Honda (6.0) have all gained market share over the same period of last year.


Top Australian Brands May 2007

Brand - Month - Year - Month % - Year %
Toyota - 19,371 - 91,984 - 21.9 - 21.9
Holden - 12,902 - 61,863 - 14.6 - 14.8
Ford - 9,571 - 43,997 - 10.8 - 10.5
Mazda - 6,345 - 32,180 - 7.2 - 7.7
Mitsubishi - 5,306 - 25,451 - 6.0 - 6.1
Nissan - 5,208 - 26,331 - 5.9 - 6.3
Honda - 4,777 - 25,291 - 5.4 - 6.0
Hyundai - 4,219 - 17,875 - 4.8 - 4.3
Subaru - 3,203 - 15,471 - 3.6 - 3.7
Volkswagen - 2,500 - 10,918 - 2.8 - 2.6


Top Australian Vehicles May 2007

Vehicle - Month
1. Holden Commodore - 5001
2. Toyota Corolla - 3,558
3. Toyota Hilux Ute - 3,504
4. Ford Falcon - 2,801
5. Mazda 3 - 2, 758
6. Toyota Yaris - 2,389
7. Toyota Camry - 2,027
8. Ford Focus - 1,958
9. Toyota Aurion - 1,954
10. Hyundai Getz - 1,757

11. Nissan Navara Ute - 1,726
12. Ford Territory SUV - 1,665
13. Holden Astra - 1,643
14. Holden Rodeo Ute - 1,635
15. Honda Civic - 1,472
16. Mitsubishi Lancer - 1,469
17. Toyota Prado SUV - 1,234
18. Mitsubishi Triton Ute - 1,232
19. Toyota Rav4 SUV - 1,146
20. Suzuki Swift - 1,112

21. Ford Falcon Ute - 1,109
22. Volkswagen Golf - 1,105
23. Nissan X-Trail - SUV - 1,071
24. Honda CR-V SUV - 1,043
25. Holden Commodore Ute - 1,035
26. Mazda 6 - 1,022
27. Subaru Forester SUV - 983
28. Holden Captiva SUV - 971
29. Nissan Tiida - 934
30. Mazda BT-50 Ute - 928


Other Holden Model Results

Holden Captiva - 971
Holden Barina - 928
Holden Viva - 605
Holden Epica - 480
Holden Caprice - 224
Holden Statesman - 179



New Zealand May 2007 Car Sales Results

Motor Industry Association New Zealand
5 June 2007
www.mia.org.nz

Biggest May for new cars since 1990.

6344 new cars were registered in New Zealand last month in what was the biggest May for 17 years. New car sales were 29.8% up on April and continued the strong seasonal levels that have been evident for the last three years.

New commerical vehicle sales also held firm, with 2051 units finding owners in May, 18.5% up on April’s figure.

On a year to date basis, the new vehicle market is virtually level pegging with 2005 – commercial vehicle sales are at 99.6% of last year’s levels, and new cars are at 99.9%.

“The new vehicle market continues at a buoyant level in spite of indications of a softening economy,” said Perry Kerr, CEO of the Motor Industry Association. “It’s very competitive out there and new vehicle buyers are getting great value for their money.”

Toyota continues to stretch its lead over Ford in the total market, but in passenger cars it’s Holden that’s in a strong second place. The top three models remain unchanged with Holden Commodore in top spot, followed by the Toyota Corolla and the Ford Falcon.


Top New Zealand Brands May 2007

Brand - Month
Toyota - 1522
Ford - 1036
Holden - 1021
Nissan - 607
Mazda - 530
Honda - 529
Mitsubishi - 480
Suzuki - 479
Hyundai - 342
Volkswagen - 228
Kia - 184
Subaru - 155
Mercedes-Benz - 96
Daihatsu - 92

Australian & New Zealand April 2007 Sales Results

[JoeT]

Sales Up In May & Heading For A Million

Ken Gratton
5 June 2007
www.carpoint.com.au

2007 shaping up to be a 'mega' year for local vehicle sales.

Could 2007 be the first year of one million vehicle sales locally? It's been asked before, but consumers appear to have adjusted to higher petrol prices and even the large car segment is showing signs of improvement.

Don't read too much into the May sales figures, although they did show a marked improvement over the May figures for 2006 -- the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) put the monthly improvement over the previous year's at an additional 5140 units.

The year-to-date figures tell the big story. An extra 32,567 vehicles were sold YTD and that would be almost enough in itself to hit the magic million, even if sales for the latter half of '07 slump to the same levels as for '06. Total sales last year were 962,666 units, so it's close.

Looking at the individual market segments, the large cars are interesting, but in a 'Holden and daylight' sort of way. The Commodore (5001 units) outsold Falcon (2801) by 2200. Ford's market share actually improved slightly for the month, but to put that in perspective, the monthly market share was worth about eight cars' variation from the YTD share.

Aurion's market share improved substantially during May. The V6-engined Toyota rose from 15.7 per cent share for YTD to 17.2 for the month. Mitsubishi's 380 sold 841 units for the month. This is 360 less than for May 2006 and also indicates a loss of one per cent market share, relative to YTD figures. Again, don't draw too many conclusions from one month's sales, but May '07 was a strong month during a strong year, so the 380 looks to be in further decline.

After the Commodore, the best-selling passenger car was the Toyota Corolla. Helped by a burst of sales from the new 150 Series model, Corolla sold 3558 units for the month and increased market share from an average of 18.6 per cent YTD to 19.1 for the month.

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New Toyota Corolla (above) and Holden Commodore

[Ssom]

Requesting permission to beat chest about Epicas slow sales performance. The pressure is going to be very heavy on the Mondeo by the looks.


Damn the MIA and thier not posting the months results today

[mikmak]

Sort of expected the Corolla to go gang busters at the start.

[Stormin]

They are May figures, not April?

[ford&holden]

I may be jumping the gun, but by the looks of things the Stategy of Viva/barina/epica is a luke warm performance for Holden so far...
If it weren't for the VE commodore, Holden would have no top 10 sellers, granted it's one month, even the Territory outsold the Astra.
I don't see Fords new mondeo doing any worse sales wise than what the Epica will settle down too.
Which product sells for more?
I don't quite understand what Holdens aims to achieve with the cheaper end of the market...yet.
It certainly isn't threatening Toyota's dominance, which is a worry and it underestimates Holdens brand value, this generation of epica, viva and barina anyhow.

[Psionic Wibbly]

Originally Posted by ford&holden

I may be jumping the gun, but by the looks of things the Stategy of Viva/barina/epica is a luke warm performance for Holden so far...
If it weren't for the VE commodore, Holden would have no top 10 sellers, granted it's one month, even the Territory outsold the Astra.
I don't see Fords new mondeo doing any worse sales wise than what the Epica will settle down too.
Which product sells for more?
I don't quite understand what Holdens aims to achieve with the cheaper end of the market...yet.
It certainly isn't threatening Toyota's dominance, which is a worry and it underestimates Holdens brand value, this generation of epica, viva and barina anyhow.

i dont understand how anyone can ever imagine that a bunch of korean cars will ever threaten the dominance of toyota?

i mean if you pack the wallabies with a huge bunch of korean players and dress then up in the wallaby colours, can you actually expect them to defeat the All Blacks or the Springboks? i think not my dear friend!

[Patto1]

Originally Posted by ford&holden

I may be jumping the gun, but by the looks of things the Stategy of Viva/barina/epica is a luke warm performance for Holden so far...
If it weren't for the VE commodore, Holden would have no top 10 sellers, granted it's one month, even the Territory outsold the Astra.
I don't see Fords new mondeo doing any worse sales wise than what the Epica will settle down too.
Which product sells for more?
I don't quite understand what Holdens aims to achieve with the cheaper end of the market...yet.
It certainly isn't threatening Toyota's dominance, which is a worry and it underestimates Holdens brand value, this generation of epica, viva and barina anyhow.

With the exception of the Captiva which is kicking butt, Holden badly needs the next generation models of the Barina/Viva/Epica if they want any hope of catching Toyota.

Another excellent sales month for the Captiva of nearly a 1000 sales.
I hear Holden are struggling for more stock and would sell more if they could get them in.

They do look really good on the road, I am really tempted to buy one myself............

[mikmak]

I would be surprised if the Epica gets over 700. Its not exactly a door buster. Definitely need the next generation yesterday.I'll post a brief review later tonight as I am very pressed for time. As for the other Korean cousins, if supply was there, the results would be a lot rosier. Hopefully they can be replaced soon enough before Joe public realises the shenanigans going on.

[redTT]

Holden Commodore - 5001

-v-

Toyota Aurion - 1800>2000?

Oh how the media darling have fallen................down to ninth, and I though the Aurion was Toyota's Commodore slayer .

[BBDOS CV8]

When you dress up samurais as geishas they still look like girls. Toyota - they sponsor an Australian Rules footy team and the Australian Rules competition. The Adelaide Camry Crows - that's cheesy.

Oh look, the usual bunch of suspects lining up to bag Holden for making money.

If Holden sells no more than 5-600 Epicas a month they will outsell the last few years of imported Vectras. And unlike the Vectra, the Epica makes Holden and the dealer money on every sale. Plus all the Korean stuff comes back for services, not niggly warranty like the Euro stuff which the dealer wears labour for. I'm sure your average Holden dealer is really upset about having the sharpest-priced cars to sell. They'd probbly like a few more.

Holden also make money on the Viva, the Barina and the Captiva. Selling 7,000 + 12,000 + 12,000 a year is some pretty handy change, don't you think? Sure, they'd like to sell more. But better turn a dollar on every one you sell than discount to buggery like they had to when they unloaded two years' worth of Corsas in '06 at below cost. And that was only 6,000-odd cars.

They may not challenge Toyota, but they're still selling where Holden had nothing a short while back.

Ford sells oh so many of its' Euro-built Fiestas, Preciousssss. Nice car, pity about the price. And yeah, the South-African built Focus does OK, and it outsold the Astra last month. But Holden probbly makes as much money out of a Viva as Ford does out of a Fiesta and Focus combined.

Does anyone really think a European-sourced Mondeo at $$$$$$Euro is going to challenge the Camry, when the established Mazda 6 is only selling 1,000/month? I'll donate $50 to the charity of F&H's choice if it outsells the Epica within 3 months of launch. My bet is it'll go the way of the Vectra - people are even less inclined to buy Euro-sourced cars at Euro prices from Ford than they are from Holden. The last one lasted 1997-2000. Ford tried to push that as Euro-sophisicated, too.

Camry and Mazda 6 both dropped in May market share. That share went to Epica. Not big, but a start.

And I'm sure Holden is really upset about selling 5,000 Commodores/month, along with 400 LWB cars that are all high-margin units. Plus Holden exports shiploads of cars and engines - so export credits help it offset imports. The new Ute is due in a month or so - traditionally worth 20% of sedan sales, and 40% V8s.

Interesting that DCX is down to 150 300Cs a month. The local dealer who used to have one demo has three on the lot - looks like it has peaked.

Interestingly, Camrys and Aurions combined (after all, they're the same car) outsell Falcons now........

[Bravada]

I remember not long ago, the ultra-expensive Fiesta was merely a few examples behind the oh-so-cheap Barina... If only Ford was wise enough to make the Fiesta in e.g. Thailand (hell, they could even import it from India), they could perhaps make a lot more money on them as Holden does on the Barina, as people seem to be willing to pay more for the tired Fiesta.

[mikmak]

Originally Posted by mikmak

I would be surprised if the Epica gets over 700. Its not exactly a door buster. Definitely need the next generation yesterday.I'll post a brief review later tonight as I am very pressed for time. As for the other Korean cousins, if supply was there, the results would be a lot rosier. Hopefully they can be replaced soon enough before Joe public realises the shenanigans going on.

Perhaps I was being a little self indulgent there^^. Let me clarify:
1. I need the next generation yesterday.
2. Joe Public probably doesn't give a rats behind about the "shenanigans". The Daeoldens are good value, no matter how you slice it.

[Psionic Wibbly]

Looks like Ford-Australia is heading for Valhalla.

[Robert Ryan]

Oh how the media darling have fallen................down to ninth, and I though the Aurion was Toyota's Commodore slayer .

The Aussie Camry..whoops Aurion , looks like it has been slayed. As i predicted it would when I first saw it at the Sydney Motor Show.

Looks like Ford-Australia is heading for Valhalla.

I certaintly hope not.