New vehicle sales were again soft last month with 84,708 sales recorded during November 2019, a 9.8 per cent decrease on the same month last year.
On a year-to-date basis, total sales for 2019 have been recorded as 978,628 units, an 8.2 per cent decrease on year-to-date 2018.
None of the mainstream automotive brands enjoyed year-on-year sales gains last month, the one exception being Kia, which occupies 5th spot for the month, while Mercedes-Benz outsold Holden.
The Korean brand’s new Seltos small SUV added 898 sales and Cerato continued its run of sales growth up 21.3% on the same month last year.
Industry comment
Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, said it was the twentieth consecutive month of decreasing sales.
“It is a tough market – full stop,” Mr Weber said.
“The industry has been looking for a lift for some time now and has activated multiple levers to achieve some stimulation, including incentives, sales and special vehicle editions. However, the appetite for new vehicles remains suppressed,” concluded Weber.
Luxury up
November was another great month for premium and European brands with Audi up 11.7%, BMW up 5.7%, Land Rover up 16.7%, Lexus 27.4%, Mercedes-Benz up 51.7%, Porsche 8.2%, Renault up 45.7%, Skoda up 30.4% and Volvo up 16.6%
Mainstream down
In stark contrast, November was another tough month for top 10 brands with Mazda down 30.7%, Holden down 47.9%, Ford down 10%, Hyundai down 13.3%, Subaru down 19.9%, Volkswagen down 16.8% and Toyota down 7.2%.
SUVs continue domination
Small SUVs to find more buyers included the Hyundai Kona up 30.2%, Audi Q2 up 61.1%, BMW X1 up 38.3%, Lexus UX up 157.1%, Volvo XC40 up 11.4%.
In the medium SUV segment, Audi Q5 up 36.6%, BMW X3 up 16.5%, Lexus NX 32.5%, Mercedes GLC up 21.9% and Volvo XC60 up 5.7% continued their strong form.
Top 10 brands
Toyota 16,954
Mitsubishi 6861
Hyundai 6821
Mazda 6167
Kia 5141
Ford 4966
Nissan 4272
Volkswagen 3923
Honda 3285
Subaru 3141
Top 10 models
Toyota HiLux 3687
Ford Ranger 3491
Mitsubishi Triton 3123
Hyundai i30 2339
Toyota RAV4 2316
Toyota Corolla 2229
Toyota Camry 2001
Nissan X-Trail 1882
Mazda CX-5 1735
Kia Cerato 1639
Source: FCAI VFACTS November 2019