Strong start for vehicle sales in Australia

Total sales for January, including passenger cars, SUVs, light and heavy commercial vehicles totalled 88,551 (up 4.3 per cent) for the month in comparison to January 2017, with significant growth in SUV and Light Commercial segments. The Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber, noted the strong sales which reflected the ongoing value in the current market underpinned by significant competition between the many brands available in Australia. “2017 was a record year for the industry and we’re pleased to see that strength continuing in the January 2018 sales results. Notably there was very strong growth in business sales of SUVs and Light Commercials,” Mr Weber said. Within January 2018 segments , there were some significant increases in sales compared to the SUV and light commercial segments in January 2017 , with sales of small and medium SUVs up 25.5 per cent and 19.2 per cent respectively. Similarly, sales of 4X4 Light Commercials were up by 26.6 per cent. Passenger motor vehicles declined by 8.7 per cent compared to January 2017, although passenger vehicles alone still account for a significant 36 per cent of the total market. The nation’s top five best - selling vehicles in January were the Toyota Hilux (3,860) followed by the Ford Ranger (3,260), the Mazda3 (3,201), Toyota Corolla (2 ,776) and the Mazda CX.