WA vehicle sales up 12% in Aug, as national figures drop

Western Australian was the only major market to counter a negative trend in Australian motor vehicle sales. National vehicle sales fell more than 5 per cent in August amid concern over high fuel prices and rising interest rates.

New vehicle sales hit 9,736 in WA, a jump of 11.7 per cent for the month (compared to August 2005) taking the year-to-date total to 72,124, a 10.4 per cent rise on the previous corresponding period.

Toyota was the big seller again, with 2,325 vehicles sold compared to 1,263 Holdens and 1,194 Fords.Toyota claims almost 23 per cent of the market for the year to date, against 15 per cent for Holden and under 11 per cent for Ford. Mitsubishi, Nissan and Mazda are all neck and neck for fourth place with year-to-date market shares at or around 6 per cent.

Isuzu claims the lead in trucks, clearly ahead of Hino.

Official national VFACTS figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show that the market fell 5.2 per cent on last August and year-to-date sales are now down 3.4 per cent on the same period of 2005.

The decline comes after four years of record growth.

On present trends the industry predicts it will sell about 970,000 vehicles by year's end compared with the FCAI's forecast at the beginning of the year of 980,000 and a record 988,269 in 2005.

In an announcement Toyota said its launch of a new-generation Camry has pushed Australia's top selling car brand to another record sales month.

Nationally, Toyota sold 18,585 cars in August - an increase of 3.7 per cent over its previous record for the month set last year.

According to the VFACTS data, within the overall market, various segments are showing conflicting trends.

Sales of the smallest cars in the market continued to grow in August - the Light car segment registering a 31.4 per cent rise over the same month in 2005 - but the Small car segment was down slightly (1.3 per cent).

"As the interest rate rises take effect it is not only the fuel economy of a vehicle that buyers are considering but also the monthly repayment that would be required," said Peter Sturrock.

The Light Truck market was down last month by 8.9 per cent but within that the Pick-up/Cab-Chassis 4x4 segment rose by 7.0 per cent.

The Sports Utility Vehicle market fell by 10.8 per cent in August and year-to-date is now down 7.4 per cent.

Below is the full VFACTS release:

Australian motor vehicle sales dipped slightly in August as the effects of high fuel prices and rising interest rates combined to discourage some buyers from car showrooms.

Official VFACTS figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that the market fell 5.2 per cent on last August and year-to-date sales are now down 3.4 per cent on the same period of 2005.

"After four years of record growth the FCAI had been forecasting a slight decline of total sales in 2006 and the downturn is only a little greater than our initial prediction," said the FCAI's chief executive, Peter Sturrock.

On present trends the industry will sell about 970,000 vehicles by year's end compared with the FCAI's forecast at the beginning of the year of 980,000 and a record 988,269 in 2005.

Peter Sturrock said the August results were notable for the strong debuts of two new locally manufactured models.

"The enthusiastic reception for the Holden Commodore and Toyota Camry is a great encouragement to the local automotive industry," said Mr Sturrock.

According to the VFACTS data, within the overall market, various segments are showing conflicting trends.

Sales of the smallest cars in the market continued to grow in August - the Light car segment registering a 31.4 per cent rise over the same month in 2005 - but the Small car segment was down slightly (1.3 per cent).

"As the interest rate rises take effect it is not only the fuel economy of a vehicle that buyers are considering but also the monthly repayment that would be required," said Peter Sturrock.

The Light Truck market was down last month by 8.9 per cent but within that the Pick-up/Cab-Chassis 4x4 segment rose by 7.0 per cent.

The Sports Utility Vehicle market fell by 10.8 per cent in August and year-to-date is now down 7.4 per cent.

"Fuel economy is clearly the issue affecting SUV sales and it is notable that within that market the sales of Small SUVs are less affected," said Peter Sturrock.

Toyota was Australia's bestselling vehicle brand in August with a 22.8 per cent share of the market, ahead of Holden (14.5 per cent) and Ford (12.6 per cent).