Car sales down again, but some signs of positivity

Photo by Steven Striegel on Unsplash

October marked 31 consecutive months of new car sales declines, but sales were only 1.5% down compared to October last year.

Just over 81,000 new cars were sold Australia-wide in October 2020, slightly down on October 2019's sales of just over 82,000.

This is according to the latest Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' (FCAI) 'VFACTS' report.

These figures look a lot better than September's dismal results, and many other months in 2020, as well as year-to-date sales down nearly a fifth compared to the corresponding period last year.

Many states had sizeable increases in sales compared to October 2019, with the only two states down: Tasmania (-16.1%), and Victoria (-28.3%). 

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FCAI chief Tony Weber said easing coronavirus restrictions led to promising signs.

“Nationally, the state of industry operations is returning to normal as COVID-19 restrictions ease," he said.

"Additionally, Government initiatives such as a constructive budget that included the instant asset write off, along with more accessible finance for consumers, is also acting as a welcome stimulus for the industry.

"The green shoots that we are seeing in October give us great hope that we may begin to see further recovery during the coming months."

Sales were largely boosted by SUVs and light commercial vehicles (utes and vans), up 6.7% and 11.6% respectively when compared to October 2019.

Most notably, Upper Large SUVs are up 33%, and Light SUVs are up 27.5%.

The top five selling models for the month were:

• Toyota HiLux with 4,444 sales;
• Ford Ranger with 4,217 sales;
• Toyota RAV4 with 4,084 sales;
• Toyota Landcruiser with 2,429 sales; and
• Toyota Prado with 2,207 sales.

Overall, out of 81,220 total sales in October, 60,372 were SUVs or light commercial vehicles - approximately three quarters.

 

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