In this month’s Insight, we analyse the trends in new vehicle sales during December 2011 and review the full year results.
Insight:
Australia’s annual sales exceed one million for the fourth time in history despite December sales failing to impress. The imported Mazda3 officially dethroned Commodore as Australia’s highest selling vehicle, marking the end of Commodore’s 15 year reign.
December 2011 Results
- In a weak finish to the year, total vehicle sales in December 2011 were 82,459, 4.8% lower than December 2010. Queensland was the only state to record a monthly increase with sales up 4.9% over December 2010.
- Corolla capped off its strong finish to the year recording its fourth successive month as the country’s highest selling vehicle (fifth time this year). Mazda3 was the 2nd highest selling vehicle in December, outselling Commodore (3rd) by 511 vehicles.
- Sales of vehicles manufactured in Thailand were 37.4% lower in December 2011 than in December 2010, after also falling 7.2% in November 2011. These results reflect the impact of Thailand floods on stock availability. Thailand is a major supplier of vehicles to Australia with 16% of vehicles sold in 2011 (second to Japan).
- Hilux achieved sales of just 1,623 for the month, down over 50% on both November and December 2010 sales. Hilux was one of the most affected vehicles from shortages of Thai stock during December.
2011 Year End Results
- Automotive sales totalled 1,008,437 in 2011 exceeding the one million mark for the fourth time in five years, but down 2.6% on 2010. Queensland was the only state where more vehicles were sold during 2011 than 2010 (up 1.4%). Victoria was responsible for almost 50% of the decrease in Australia’s total sales during 2011 with 13,217 fewer sales than in 2010.
- Mazda3 reinforced the shift in Australia’s automotive industry by ending Commodore’s 15 year reign as Australia’s highest selling vehicle. With the imported Mazda3 claiming the crown as the highest selling vehicle, the reign of locally produced Holden and Ford vehicles has come to an end. Mazda3 represents changing consumer preferences with smaller imported vehicles becoming more popular while sales of larger locally manufactured vehicles continue to slide.
- Commodore dominated the large car segment accounting for 52% of large cars sold during 2011 despite losing its sales crown to Mazda3. This was an increase of nearly 3.5% in market share over 2010. However, the large car segment continued to struggle during 2011, down 20.8% compared to 2010. The large car segment has declined more than 55% over the last decade.
- 2011 was a positive year for Cruze selling 19.2% more vehicles in 2011 than in 2010. Holden also added a hatchback to the Cruze range during November 2011. Cruze finished 2011 as the 5th highest selling vehicle (4th highest in December) and less than 7,000 units behind Commodore (but only 31 units in December). Continuing trends in consumer preferences may lead to Cruze becoming Holden’s most popular vehicle and the highest selling locally produced vehicle in 2012.
- Toyota retained its longstanding position as the highest selling brand in Australia with 181,624 sales, 18% market share during 2011. However, it was the first time in eight years Toyota did not manage to achieve 200,000 in sales. Toyota’s 2011 sales were 15.4% lower than in 2010 and a similar level to those Toyota achieved back in 2003. Natural disasters during the year including Japanese earthquakes and Thailand floods affected Toyota’s stock availability over many months in 2011 and Toyota will be hopeful of improved supply during 2012.
Falcon’s Demise
- Falcon recorded its worst year in over 50 years of sales, down over 10,000 units (36.5%) in 2011 compared to 2010. Falcon sold around 30,000 units a year from 2007 to 2010 but saw its sales and market share slide in 2011, managing just 18,741 sales (24% of large car sales). Falcon has faced declining sales over the last 8 years, down nearly 55,000 units from its 73,220 sales peak in 2003. Falcon managed to finish the year as the 9th highest selling vehicle in 2011, only 24 vehicles ahead of the 10th placed Lancer, and 359 sales clear of Golf (11th).
- With the viability of the Falcon platform called into question during 2011, the Federal Government announced (on 10 January 2012) an additional $34 million of funding for Ford to boost the fuel efficiency and emissions performance of its Falcon and Territory models. The funding package will also include $69 million from Ford to maintain production of the Falcon in Victoria until the end of 2016.
- Ford only managed one vehicle in December’s top ten selling vehicles with the smaller, imported Focus outselling both the Falcon and Territory to be the 9th highest selling vehicle for the month.
Top ten vehicle sales
December 2011
Top ten vehicle sales
Year to date 2011
Contacts
Melbourne
Stephen Longley
t: +61 3 9269 4136
e: slongley@ppbadvisory.com
Ben Verney
t: +61 3 9269 4118
e: bverney@ppbadvisory.com
Robert Ditrich
t: +61 3 9269 4223
e: rditrich@ppbadvisory.com
Sydney
Greg Quinn
t: +61 2 8116 3278
e: gquinn@ppbadvisory.com
Brisbane
Grant Sparks
t: +61 7 3222 6807
e: gsparks@ppbadvisory.com
David Leigh
t: +61 7 3222 6822
e: dleigh@ppbadvisory.com
Perth
Simon Theobald
t: +61 8 9216 7601
e: stheobald@ppbadvisory.com
Auckland
David Webb
t: +64 9 3041 301
e: dwebb@ppbadvisory.com
Important: This information is not advice. Readers should not act solely on the basis of information contained in this document. We recommend that formal or independent advice be sought before acting in the areas covered herein.
Automotive statistics - Australian new vehicle sales
December 2011
Sales by state
December 2011
Sales by state
Year to date 2011
Sales by manufacture
December 2011
Sales by manufacture
Year to date 2011
Sales of locally manufactured vehicles
December 2011
Sales of locally manufactured vehicles
Year to date 2011
Sales by passenger/SUV classification
December 2011
Sales by passenger/SUV classification
Year to date 2011
Sales by buyer type
December 2011
Sales by buyer type
Year to date 2011
Sales by country of manufacture
December 2011
Sales by country of manufacture
Year to date 2011
Sales by fuel type*
December 2011
Sales by fuel type*
Year to date 2011
Top ten vehicle sales
December 2011
Top ten vehicle sales
Year to date 2011
Sales growth by state
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)
Sales growth by state
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)
Sales growth by manufacturer
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)
Sales growth by manufacturer
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)
Sales growth of locally manufactured vehicles
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)
Sales growth of locally manufactured vehicles
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)
Sales growth by passenger/SUV classification
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)
Sales growth by passenger/SUV classification
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)
Sales growth by buyer type
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)
Sales growth by buyer type
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)
Sales growth by country of manufacture
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)
Sales growth by country of manufacture
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)
Sales growth by fuel type*
December 2011 growth (compared with December 2010)^
Sales growth by fuel type*
Year to date 2011 (compared with year to date 2010)^
* Excludes 'Heavy Commercial' vehicles
^ The analysis excludes the electric fuel type given that electric sales represent less than 0.05% of all vehicle sales. December 2011 electric sales were 3 up from 0 recorded during 2010, while year to date electric sales are 49 down from 112 last year.
Movements in actual data and growth rates less than 5% are not annotated in the above charts.
Source: Federal Chambers of Automotive Industries - VFACTS National Report
