Aussie market slumps as Holden collapses
Holden’s vehicle sales in Australia have plunged following the decision by General Motors to retire the brand by the end of 2020.
The latest Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) figures put demand for Holden products down by 64 per cent in February, when it sold 1,367 vehicles, compared to the same month the year before when it shifted 3,825 units. Its biggest-selling model in February was the Colorado, pictured, with 598 units.
Holden’s sales were down by almost 50 per cent to 4,008 over the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2019.
The drop pushed the former market-leading brand out of Australia’s top 10 for February and below premium marques such as Mercedes-Benz Cars, with 2,673 sales, and BMW on 2,019. Middle-tier mainstream players with limited model lines such as Isuzu Ute and Suzuki, with 1,559 and 1,423 registrations respectively, also overtook Holden.
Australia suffered a downturn in overall new-vehicle trade for the 23rd month in a row, according to the FCAI figures.
“There’s no doubt this is an extraordinarily difficult time for the automotive industry – a situation sadly underlined by the announcement of Holden’s withdrawal from the Australian market,” says Tony Weber, chief executive.
The FCAI attributes the difficult trading conditions to adverse factors directly affecting consumer confidence over 2018, 2019 and the start of 2020. These include political and financial uncertainty, environmental factors such as floods, drought and bushfires, and growing concerns regarding a global pandemic from the coronavirus.
Weber adds: “The Australian new-vehicle market has now seen a downturn each month for the past 23 months. In economic terms, a recession is declared after two quarters of negative growth and this industry has now seen seven consecutive quarters of negative growth.”
According to the FCAI, 79,940 new vehicles were sold across the Tasman during February. Of the recorded sales, 39,304 were SUVs, which accounted for a market share of 49.2 per cent, 15,523 were light commercials for 19.4 per cent, and 22,648 were passenger vehicles for 28.3 per cent.
The Toyota Hilux with 3,421 sales, was the best-selling model closely followed by its stablemate, the RAV4, on 3,375. Next up was Ford’s Ranger with 3,202 sales, followed by Toyota’s Corolla with 2,520. In fifth place was Hyundai’s i30 with 2,152 registrations.
Toyota topped the marques ladder with 17,679 sales for the month for a 22.1 per cent market share. Mazda, with 7,230 sales, came second for a nine per cent market share. Third was Hyundai on 5,945, followed by Mitsubishi with 5,513 and Kia with 5,120 sales.
