Car Sales Strong In March

Car sales were strong in March with Australian's purchasing 97,267 new motor vehicles.

Releasing the VFACTS figures for March 2014, FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said large cars were a popular choice in March 2014, with purchases of large passenger cars up 24.5 per cent, and large SUVs up 9.7 per cent compared to March 2013.

"Smaller sized car sales slowed in March, following strong sales throughout 2013. Sales in the micro passenger car segment dropped 15.8 per cent compared to the same month in 2013. Light passenger car sales fell 10.9 per cent, and small passenger car sales fell 4 per cent," Mr Weber said.

Government purchases increased 9.6 per cent in March 2014, compared to March 2013. In particular, government buyers bought 22.4 per cent more passenger cars and 1.7 per cent more SUVs. Private purchases increased by 4 per cent. Private buyers bought 11.3 per cent more light commercial vehicles and 12.8 per cent more SUVs. Business purchases declined by 4.7 per cent.

Sales increased significantly in South Australia, with SA consumers buying 8.8 per cent more vehicles than in March 2013. Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania also saw an increase in sales - 3.8, 2.5 and 1.4 per cent, respectively. Sales dropped 9.3 per cent in Western Australia, 6.6 per cent in the Northern Territory, 5.7 per cent in Queensland and 2.8 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory.

The Toyota Corolla was the top selling car in Australia in March 2014, with 4,086 sales. The Corolla was followed by the Mazda3 (3,587), Toyota Hilux (3,105), Holden Commodore (2,967) and Hyundai i30 (2,767)

Toyota was the top selling brand in March 2014, with 18,275 sales. Toyota was followed by Holden (9,851), Mazda (9,203), Hyundai (8,606) and Ford (7,037).