WA car sales decline in 2017

Western Australia’s automotive industry has finished the year down 2.5 per cent in new vehicle sales relative to last year, after a drop in sales for December ended a two-month run of strong growth.

The monthly figures, released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, show a 1 per cent drop in sales for December, taking the state’s overall sales total for 2017 to 97,773 compared with last year’s 100,234.

Passenger cars were the only vehicles dragging down WA, with an 11.6 per cent decrease for the year.

SUV vehicles remained the most popular in the state with 40,392 purchased, a 1 per cent increase on last year, while light commercial (4.9 per cent) and heavy commercial (16.5 per cent)vehicle sales both increased.

Brand-wise, Toyota topped the charts in WA with 21,932 sold in 2017, up 4.6 per cent on last year, while Hyundai (9,957) and Mitsubishi (8,091) rounded out the top three.

At a national level, Australians purchased 1,189,116 vehicles over the past 12 months, representing a 0.9 per cent increase compared with 2016.

Across Australia, 465,646 SUVs were sold in 2017, representing 39.2 per cent of the total market, compared with 450,012 other passenger cars, on 37.8 per cent market share.

Australia scored a record result with 102,820 SUV cars sold in December, up 4.1 per cent on the same month in 2016.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the industry's transition to the SUV era now appeared entrenched.

"It is a growth pattern we expect will continue," he said.

Toyota was the top-selling brand for the year in Australia, capturing 18.2 per cent of the market, and was December's most popular brand, while the Toyota Hilux was Australia's top-selling car for the second consecutive year.

Mazda, with 9.8 per cent market share, was the second highest seller, followed by Hyundai (8.2 per cent) and Holden (7.6).