Car sales are hot in Australia

Buyers gather at HiLux, Ranger, RAV4 and LandCruiser as optimism returns to market

Australian car buyers gave up the coronavirus blues and returned en masse to showrooms last month to announce the first positive sales results this year for the sector, where more than 95,000 new cars were sold.

This is an increase of almost 10,500 sales, or 12.4% - in November 2019, when COVID-19 is anything but a household name and also represents the sector's first positive sales result in two and a half years.

This is all about the continued demand for blocking buyers and the easing of restrictions in Australia, including the reopening of state and territorial borders, which has restored confidence and forced many to look for a new vehicle instead of international travel.

This can also be seen in the fact that since November, private buyers have been behind the outstanding result - instead of companies, government or fleet companies, with more than 46,000 private sales growing by 32 percent.

Strong percentage increases were reported in all states of Tasmania, including the large markets of New South Wales (30,343, + 13%), Queensland (19,874, + 19.5%) and finally Victoria (26,616, + 9, 1%).

Many well-known car brands enjoyed the long-awaited return of pedestrian traffic to dealers, with the market leader achieving 23,204 sales - a 36.9% increase over November last year - with the Toyota HiLux, confirming its status as the most sought after in Australia with 5038 sales for the month.

In fact, Toyota had five of the six best-selling cars in the entire market last month, with the Ford Ranger being the only thorn in its side as number two in the nation in sales of 4260.

Then there was a sea of ​​red branding with Toyota RAV4 (3800), LandCruiser (2947), Corolla (2774) and Prado (2606), rounding out the top six, and the Mazda CX-5 the next best (2412) and entirely the new Isuzu D-MAX, which expands its muscles with 2,095 sales for the month.

Mazda confirmed its long-standing (though not always stable) position in second place overall with 9053 sales - an impressive 46.8% increase - while Hyundai (6903, + 1.2%) barely managed to retain third place from the Ranger leader Ford (6613, + 33.2%).

Mitsubishi was a rare exception, suffering a 20% drop in sales for the month with just 5,488 miles on board, leaving the door open for the fast-closing Kia (5376, + 4.6%), which is now just 579 units behind the triple diamond brand in terms of sales so far - creating a large mileage to the finish line, which can give the Korean brand the desired fifth position as a whole.

Among the other major players, Volkswagen, Nissan and Honda also fell last month, Subaru saw a slight increase, while among the prestigious players BMW topped the package with 2647 sales - 52.9% increase and 11th position in the market as a whole. (Isuzu Ute failed to rank in the top 10 with 2,943 sales, owing it all to D-MAX.)

Mercedes-Benz, which remains the prestigious market leader throughout the year so far, reported 2,638 sales (-4.4%), while Audi is in third place and positive territory with 1,819 units (+ 13.1%).

The Chinese brand MG sold 2,021 cars last month to continue its strong campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic, with sales up 133% for the year.

Tony Weber, executive director of the Federal Automotive Chamber of Commerce (FCAI), said consumer confidence was a key factor in the industry revolution.

"Australia's newest new vehicle sales have fallen for 31 consecutive months. This is due to a number of well-known factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental and financial concerns," he said.

"As the Australian economy shows improvement, the good news is that sales of new vehicles are moving in a more positive direction.

"Why are we seeing an improvement now? We believe there are a number of contributing factors, including the growing optimism of the Australian public, as COVID-19 restrictions make it easier.

"This increase in consumer confidence during the pandemic is supported by government support programs, the easing of credit constraints and the current competitive car market.

"We also believe that, given our inability to travel abroad, many Australians will decide to buy a new vehicle and holiday home this year - and we hope to significantly increase the number of family trips while driving entirely during the Christmas season," he said.