New Car Sales, VFACTS September: Nothing To See Here… Oh, Maybe EV And Hybrid Sales
I met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the AFL Grand Final on Saturday. There was a crush near a door (I was in the ‘members’), and I pushed past without looking. I then realised I was pushing past the new Prime Minister of the land. &ldq
I met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the AFL Grand Final on Saturday. There was a crush near a door (I was in the ‘members’), and I pushed past without looking.
I then realised I was pushing past the new Prime Minister of the land. “Why, Mr Prime Minister,” I said, holding out my hand, “I’m Tim O’Brien.”
“Pleased to meet you Tim O’Brien,” he said graciously, accepting my handshake.
What a great country this is. There was a not a security goon in sight, though he did find himself unexpectedly shaking hands with a nong.
On this auspicious week then, we have now learned that car sales are motoring along at a fair old clip, that middle Australia is not too depressed about things to just want to sit at home and stare at the wall, and that the Australian economy is, ipso facto, “doing alright”.
And that, as a self-appointed representative of Joe Average in that chance encounter with Citizen One, I didn’t feel I had to suppress a sudden and overwhelming urge to want to snot him on behalf of all the Joe Averages I was at that moment representing (unlike the recently unfriended bag of roosters previously running the show).
So yes, in this great country where nongs mix with Prime Ministers at sporting events, car sales are just hunky-dory at the moment – stable, growing and ‘on track’.
The ‘ladder’ in the new car sales race is similarly stable.
Brand September Sales Toyota 16,594 Mazda 10,864 Holden 9,326 Hyundai 9,311 Mitsubishi 6,937 Ford 5,823 Nissan 5,242 Volkswagen 5,124 Subaru 3,621 Honda 3,595
But just outside that Top Ten, on 3.3 percent of the market, is the surging Mercedes Benz with 3381 sales, now with air behind it to BMW on 2408 sales (2.4 percent) and Audi on 2048 sales and 2.0 percent market share.
Vehicle September Sales Hyundai i30 4490 Mazda3 3588 Toyota Corolla 3530 Toyota Camry 2522 Ford Ranger 2471 Holden Commodore 2348 Mazda CX-5 2321 Volkswagen Golf 2085 Mitsubishi Triton 2020 Toyota HiLux 2004
EV, PHEV and Hybrid Sales
Lastly, here’s a thought.
If, in your line of business, you knew of a product that was showing triple digit growth year-on-year, and showing no sign of abating, you would want to be part of that action wouldn’t you?
Why, then, do so few car manufacturers have competitive EV, PHEV or Hybrids on their showroom floors?
Because this niche market is rapidly finding its legs.
TMR Managing Editor