Sales On The Accelerator

The Age

Wednesday December 19, 2007

Joshua Dowling

Australians got behind the wheels of a million new cars in 2007, says Joshua Dowling.

IF AUSTRALIANS keep buying new cars at the rate they've been buying them all year, the millionth new vehicle should already have been sold.The highest ever new-car sales were recorded in 2005, when the tally reached 988,269.

In 2006, there was a slight dip in sales but the vehicle market remained strong.

By the end of November, Australians had already bought more new cars in 11 months than they did in all of 2006.

"Based on our calculations we expect the millionth car to be sold some time this weekend," the senior executive director of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia, David Buttner, told Drive last week.

"And we think the total market will reach between about 1,040,000 and 1,050,000 sales by the end of December."

He said rising interest rates and the federal election did not dampen consumer confidence.

"Certainly the economy has been solid and the strong Australian dollar has helped contain price increases on imported vehicles."

Mr Buttner said the industry expects new-car sales will remain strong in the New Year, too, with several important new models due, including a new version of Australia's second-biggest selling sedan, the Ford Falcon.

"Next year we are expecting the total market to be about the same size - around 1 million. It may be 1,040,000 or 1,050,000, something like that," he said.

"That will largely be driven . . . by some significant new models, including Falcon, which should further (boost) the large-car market."

He warned that interest rates, the currency and the outcome of the Federal Government's review of the automotive industry (due mid-2008) were "unknown factors" that could dent sales.

New-car sales are strong because cars are safer, more fuel-efficient, better equipped, and more affordable.

For example, he said, five years ago a $30,000 Toyota Camry had basic features. Today, the same money buys a Camry with about $4000 worth of extra comfort and safety.

As expected, with the rising cost of petrol, sales of city cars (or "light" cars as the industry defines them) are up 10 per cent and small cars are up by 6%.

Sales of medium-sized four-wheel-drives have grown at the same rate as smaller and more fuel-efficient soft-roaders.

Compact and mid-sized 4WDs grew by 20% and large cars (the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon class) by just 3.4%.

© 2007 The Age

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