Australia's highest-selling car manufacturer has predicted improving market conditions in 2010 after the latest vehicle industry figures indicated new motor vehicle sales were 15.9 per cent higher in December 2009 than a year earlier.
Australia's highest-selling car manufacturer has predicted improving market conditions in 2010 after the latest vehicle industry figures indicated new motor vehicle sales were 15.9 per cent higher in December 2009 than a year earlier.
In calendar 2009 there were 937,328 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles sold, down 7.4 per cent from the 1,012,164 recorded in 2008, according to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) data released on Wednesday.
The latest figures are not seasonally adjusted, but are the basis for the adjusted data for December that will be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on January 21.
The ABS data for November showed a 15.8 per cent annual rise from a year before and a three per cent rise between November and December 2008, suggesting the adjusted ABS figures will show another monthly increase - the fifth in a row - in December 2009.
Toyota had the highest sales in 2009 for the seventh year in a row, while the most popular vehicle model was the Holden Commodore for the fourteenth year in a row.
Toyota Australia senior executive director of sales and marketing, David Buttner said there were few negatives on the outlook for the year ahead.
"I don't really see any negative clouds on the horizon at this juncture," Mr Buttner said.
"People have been talking about the potential for interest rate rises but I think they will have to go up quite a few basis points to have any substantial impact on the market place."
Mr Buttner said the federal government's investment allowance for business had contributed about 80,000 additional sales to the overall result.
Despite the optimism Mr Buttner said he expected market conditions to remain "challenging" and expected 2010 to be a year of consolidation.
"It is clear that the underlying level of demand in 2010 will continue to be stronger," Mr Buttner said.
"Toyota's view is that 2010 will be a year of consolidation, and there's no doubting that it's already started on a positive note.
"The pace of growth will pickup over time and we are expecting the industry to return to the magic million by 2011."
FCAI chief executive, Andrew McKellar said the strong end to the year was an exceptional result given the challenges and uncertainties thrown at the industry by the global economy.
The final outcome for 2009 had beaten the industry's original expectations by about 57,000 vehicles.
"The 'game changing' measure that restored confidence in the marketplace and stimulated additional demand was the bonus tax break for business," Mr McKellar said.
However, Mr Mackellar warned there was a risk to the momentum of the economy's recovery if market lending rates were increased excessively.
Top Ten Models
1. Holden Commodore 44,387
2. Toyota Corolla 39,013
3. Toyota Hilux (4x4 and 4x2) 38,457
4. Mazda3 35,298
5. Ford Falcon 31,023
6. Hyundai i30 21,414
7. Mitsubishi Lancer 21,362
8. Toyota Camry 20,846
9. Hyundai Getz 19,643
10. Toyota Yaris 19,447
Top Ten Brands
1. Toyota 200,991
2. Holden 119,568
3. Ford 96,501
4. Mazda 77,739
5. Hyundai 63,207
6. Mitsubishi 56,998
7. Nissan 52,901
8. Honda 41,443
9. Subaru 36,506
10. Volkswagen 30,087
