No sign of letup in new vehicle market

Media release

For Immediate Release
3 December 2003

No sign of letup in new vehicle market

November saw a continuation of the buoyant new vehicle market which has now been running unabated for two years. Reflecting both the strong economy and the lower depreciation costs faced by new car buyers, November new car sales reached 5,789, the strongest November since 1990, whilst sales for the year to date, at 64,388, are already ahead of 2002’s full year figure of 64,086.. Although still strong, November sales were well down on October’s record 7,433, but as is usually the case October is always a strong month for rental car deliveries.

It was an even more impressive result for new commercial vehicle sales. At 1,769, it was the strongest November for commercials since 1984, and the 19,902 new commercials sold year to date exceeds the total for any full calendar year since 1985.

“The new vehicle industry is certainly reaping the rewards of favourable market conditions,” said Perry Kerr, CEO of the Motor Industry Association. “Consumers are seeing the benefits of upgrading to the safety, dependability and driving pleasure offered by a new vehicle, and we don’t expect this trend to change in the foreseeable future. It would be nice to see a 70,000 new car market for 2003. We may miss that by a whisker, but a 90,000 market for total new vehicles would be equally rewarding, and this looks virtually certain. This figure has not been reached since 1990”

Ford rebounded from their October fourth place in both passenger and total vehicles to take leadership for the month. Passenger car leadership for the year is still a mathematical possibility for the blue oval, but it looks like Toyota has sewn up the total vehicle market yet again.

Regarding individual models, the see-saw between Falcon and Commodore continues. Falcon led in November, but Commodore is too far ahead year to date to be threatened. Corolla hangs in for third place.

ENDS

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