WA car sales continue to rise in 2018

New vehicle sales in Western Australia have risen for a fifth straight month, according to the latest data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, with growth driven by SUVs and light commercial vehicles.

Vehicle sales totalled 8,484 in May this year, up 4 per cent on the May 2017 figure.

Monthly sales have risen every month in 2018, with the last decline occurring in December.

The result was driven by an 11 per cent increase in SUV sales (3,714) and a 14.8 per cent uptick in light commercial vehicle sales (2,191).

Passenger vehicles suffered a 13 per cent drop in sales for the month.

For the year to May, 40,100 vehicles have been sold in WA, representing a 5.4 per rise from 2017.

SUVs comprise about 44 per cent of all new vehicle sales in WA, followed by passenger vehicles (30 per cent) and light commercial vehicles (23 per cent).

Nationally, there were 100,754 new vehicle sales in May, down 2.1 per cent over the year.

In the 12 months to May, sales totalled 1,198,957 units, down from 1,201,104 units in April, but up 2.1 per cent on a year ago.

The passenger vehicle market is down by 6,056 vehicle sales (down by 15.6 per cent) over the same month last year; the sports utility market is up by 3,344 vehicle sales (up by 8.4 per cent); the light commercial market is down by 111 vehicle sales (down by 0.5 per cent); and the heavy commercial vehicle market is up by 676 vehicle sales (up by 20.9 per cent) versus May 2017.

“New SUV sales reached record highs last month and sales now account for over 40 per cent of all new motor vehicles sold in Australia,” CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said.

“And sales of luxury SUVs are even supplanting the equivalent sedan for some well-known models.

“Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus, Porsche and even Rolls-Royce have all embraced the growing premium buyer demand in this segment.

“Passenger vehicle sales remain under pressure as consumer demand wanes.