The effects of Western Australia’s mining slowdown has flowed on to the state’s car yards, with utility vehicles typically used on mine sites recording some of the heftiest falls in a declining new cars market.
New vehicle sales dropped by 6.5 per cent in May in WA, according to the latest VFACTS report, contributing to a 10.4 per cent drop during the fist five months of the calendar year compared to the same period last year.
In total, there were 46,755 cars sold in WA to the end of May.
The report said light commercial diesel vehicle year-to-date sales for non-private use were down 26.7 per cent on the previous corresponding period, with 5,363 sales recorded.
Sales of Toyota LandCruiser utes, the vehicle of choice for many of the state’s mining companies, were down 41.7 per cent, with just 455 sold to the end of May, down from 781 in that same month in 2013.
Total light commercial sales were down 16.8 per cent, while 2,921 Toyota utility vehicles, including its Hilux two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive models, were sold to May 31, a 21.8 per cent fall on the previous period.
Sales of passenger vehicles also recorded significant falls, with 20,582 cars sold so far in 2014, a 11.3 per cent reduction on the same period in 2013.
The only major marque to increase sales was Holden, which recorded a 5.8 per cent lift to 4,501.
Holden’s VY Commodore was the standout, selling 1,119 units in 2014, a 58.5 per cent jump on the previous year’s sales to that point.
Across vehicle types, Ford sales were down 10.7 per cent, Toyota fell 11.7 per cent, while Hyundai sales fell 14.2 per cent, the report said.
At the absolute luxury end of the market, there have been eight Ferraris sold in WA this year, down from 11 in 2013, while not a single Lamborghini has been sold in WA in 2014 to date.
There were three Lamborghini’s sold in WA in the same period in 2013.
