Industry Sales Growth Continues In May

Australians bought 96,672 new passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles in May 2016, 3345 (or 3.6 per cent more) than in May 2015. The strong start to the year has seen new car sales increase 3.8 per cent year-to-date.

Releasing the May 2016 VFACTS figures, FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said new vehicle sales were particularly strong in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, where they increased 1871 (6.0 per cent), 894 (3.5 per cent) and 520 (9.6 per cent) respectively in each state, compared with May 2015.

Passenger cars continue to hold on as the top selling category, with the vehicles making up 39.5 per cent of the total market for May 2016, down from 43.5 a year ago. The popularity of the SUV segment continues to grow steadily as sales rose to 37.5 per cent of the May market. Light commercial vehicles also grew, accounting for 20 per cent of the total market.

“All SUV sales, but particularly those in the medium segment, are growing rapidly. Medium SUVs are up 19.6 per cent on the May result last year. Passenger car sales have been steadily drifting and are down 5.8 per cent on May last year,” Mr Weber said.

“Business and rental fleet buyers are strong supporters of SUVs, up 24.6 per cent and 54 per cent respectively on the same period last year. In overall market terms, sales to business are up by 13.5 per cent which indicates continued value in new car pricing.”

Toyota led the market for May with 17,201 sales (17.8 per cent), followed by Mazda on 9,608 (9.9 per cent), Hyundai 9,005 (9.3), Holden 7,405 (7.7), and Ford 6,584 (6.8).

Continuing from its success last month, the Hyundai i30 was again Australia’s top-selling vehicle for May with 3,771 sales, followed by the Toyota Hilux with 3,675. The Hyundai i30’s sales were up 126.4 per cent on the same month last year. The Toyota Corolla was in third place for May with 3,333 sales, followed by the Mazda3 (3,243), and the Ford Ranger (3,115).

Key Points:

• The May 2016 market of 96,672 new vehicle sales is an increase of 3,345 vehicle sales or 3.6% on May 2015 (93,327) vehicle sales. May 2016 (26.0) had the same number of selling days as May 2015, which resulted in an increase of 128.7 vehicle sales per day.
• The May 2016 industry volume is up 9,101 or 10.4% on April 2016 (87,571) vehicles.
• The Passenger Vehicle Market is up down 2,370 vehicle sales (-5.8%) over the same month last year; the Sports Utility Market is up by 3,700 vehicle sales (11.4%); the Light Commercial Market is up by 1,857 vehicle sales (10.6%); and the Heavy Commercial Vehicle Market is up by 158 vehicle sales (5.9%) versus May 2015.
• Toyota was market leader in May, followed by Mazda and Hyundai. Toyota led Mazda with a margin of 7,593 vehicle sales, or 7.9 market share points.

VFACTS monthly vehicle sales data is available at Midday on the 3rd 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 further information contact:

Peter Brewer

P: 02 6229 8221

E: peterbrewer@fcai.com.au