New car sales in Australia are on track to reach record numbers, with VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries showing that vehicle sales are on track to hit 1 million this year.
August VFACTS data showed that 82,122 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in in the month, an increase of 12.1 percent on last year (or 8,835 vehicles).
“This is a strong August result with sales of SUVs showing a particularly healthy increase,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.
“The figures show sales to private buyers remain solid (up 20.9 percent) and there has been a lift in new car purchases by government fleets (up 21.7 percent),” Mr McKellar said.
Australia’s Federal Election has not slowed down purchase intentions for new motor vehicles, with August continuing the strong result of July, with VFACTS data showing no discernible drop off in buyer behaviour.
“There is no evidence in the August data to suggest customers were distracted from their normal buying habits due to the election and the current political uncertainty,” he said.
The majority of the increase in car sales in August was made up of strong SUV sales, recording an increase of 32.5 per cent, with passenger car sales up a modest 3.5 percent.
Sales of light commercial vehicles were up by 22.6 percent on this time last year, showing a return in demand and renewed business confidence this financial year, with businesses returning to the market after holding off purchasing during the previous year.
Toyota was the top selling marque in August with 16,633 sales; followed by Holden with 11,146, then Ford with 8,212 units.
Year-to-date, 695,666 vehicles have been sold, an increase of 15.2 percent compared to the same period in 2009.
