Sales of new vehicles in Western Australia bucked the national trend and rose by 5 per cent in July, primarily due to the sports utility vehicle (SUV) market segment, marking the first overall increase in monthly sales since May last year.
There were 7,313 new cars sold in the state in July, compared to 6,966 for the same month in 2018, according to the latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
For the year to date, car sales in WA are down 5.2 per cent from the prior corresponding period, to sit at 54,190.
In July, sales of new SUV’s rose 17.4 per cent to 3,551, but are still down 3 per cent for the year to date, with 24,560 sold so far in 2019.
Heavy commercial vehicles, such as large trucks, experienced a 10.5 per cent uptick to 304 for July.
Volvo has been the star performer among the vehicle brands so far this year, with its new car business reporting sales of 284 in 2019, a surge of 50.3 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Its commercial vehicle division has recorded a rise in new sales of 38.5 per cent in 2019, up to 162.
Despite the uptake in SUVs, Jeep has had a poor year to date, with falls of 7.3 per cent and 33.8 per cent for July and year to date, respectively.
Several of the luxury sports car brands have had a strong year to date, evidenced by Lamborghini making 12 sales, Ferrari making 20, and Porsche making 178.
This equates to increases of 50 per cent, 81.8 per cent and 23.6 per cent, respectively.
In addition, Maserati's sales were up 3.6 per cent for the year to date, to reach 29, but it recorded 10 sales for July, an increase of 150 per cent from the same period last year.
Nationally, new car sales were down 2.8 per cent in July to 83,184, with every state and territory bar Tasmania and WA recording a fall.
For the year to date, sales across Australia are down 7.7 per cent to 637,650.
