THE Toyota Hilux continued to dominate still declining new vehicle sales in July, but the big news in last months results is that the Toyota Corolla has knocked the Ford Ranger out of second spot, thanks to an increase in purchases of the popular small car.
And while the slowing of the downward sales trend is important too, it’s the shake up of the top ten that offers more interesting information, particularly with the best selling Japanese car brand now holding down five (up from four last month) of the top ten spots.
For the record, the Ford Ranger now sits in third behind the Hilux and Corolla, with the RAV4 in fourth, the Hyundai i30 in fifth, Mazda CX-5 in sixth, just ahead of the Mazda3, with the list round out by the LandCruiser, Kia Cerato and the Prado.
According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the industry reported 83,184 sales for the month, a 2.8 per cent decrease from July 2018. On a year to date basis, the industry reported total sales of 637,650 units, a drop of 7.7 per cent.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said that while the figures represented a slight slowing of the downward sales trend, the market remained sluggish.
“The July sales figures continue to illustrate the tough market conditions facing the Australian automotive industry, and the sensitive nature of the economy over the past twelve months,” he said.
“Tight financial lending, drought, increasing Luxury Car Tax imposts and the Federal election have all contributed to make the Australian car market one of the toughest in the world.”
Total sales figures for the month show Toyota remained the top selling marque, with 17,876 sales for 21.5 per cent market share, followed by Mazda (8,227 sales for 9.9 per cent market share), and Hyundai (6,983 sales for 8.4 per cent market share).
Mitsubishi slotted into fourth spot (5,247 sales for 6.3 per cent market share), ahead of Ford (4,900 sales for 5.9 per cent market share). SUVs continued as the most popular segment in Australia, passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles.
