New vehicle sales in WA plummet

New vehicle sales in Western Australia have slumped 10 per cent in August compared to the same month last year as sales across the nation crashed more than 12 per cent, according to latest statistics.

In its VFACTS sales bulletin the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said 9652 vehicles were sold in WA, compared to last year's August figure of 10,730.

Although there was a fall in monthly sales, year to date sales for WA have increased from 80,327 vehicles sold last year to 80,423.

Nationally 77,324 new vehicles were retailed last month, a 12.3 per cent slide compared with the 88,206 sold in August last year.

All major sectors of the market took a hit, although sales for the first eight months of 2008 were still running ahead compared to the same period in 2007.

FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar said the August downturn reflected the broader slowdown in domestic demand, largely attributable to previous interest rate rises.

"Yesterday's official interest rate cut is a welcome move and will help renew future confidence in the marketplace but unfortunately the figures suggest it may have come too late and further reductions may be necessary," he said.
The figures for August also showed that sales of vehicles in core 'luxury' segments fell by 19.3 per cent nationally compared to the same month last year.
"There is clear evidence that the slowdown has been compounded by the proposed hike in the luxury car tax and wider economic uncertainties," Mr McKellar said.
"This unnecessary and unfair tax grab is continuing to have a damaging impact on the Australian car industry," he said.
"It is economically irresponsible to persist with this measure in the current circumstances," Mr McKellar said.

Toyota was the top selling company in August with 17,680 vehicles ahead of Holden on 10,698 and Ford on 8,603.