Australia’s Car Industry Takes Massive Hit. Australians are simply not buying the number of vehicles they once did. 2018 saw almost 1.2 million sales, with 2019 failing to reach those dizzying heights.

So far this year, sales have plummeted a further 20.7%, to 644,891 to the end of September. In industry body, FCAI, says restrictive lending saw 30 months of month on month falls. This year, COVID dealt a further blow.

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2018 Mazda CX-5
2020 Hyundai Tucson Highlander

ABOVE: Top 10 Australian Cars – roll mouse over for details, or click to open gallery

Of the top ten brands, Toyota is still top dog, with 138,622 sales. Mazda follows, with 60,574, then Hyundai with 45,219 sales. It is worth noting that all of the top ten brands had falls.

Passenger cars are down a massive 28.8%

Report for the Month of Year to Date Year to Date Month
September 2020 YTD Sep-20 Sep-19 Sep-20
Standings   Marque Volume Share Volume Share Volume Share
1 ▼ Toyota 138,622 21.5% 154,515 19.0% 12,936 18.8%
2 ▼ Mazda 60,574 9.4% 79,057 9.7% 7,000 10.1%
3 ▼ Hyundai 45,219 7.0% 66,489 8.2% 5,273 7.6%
4 ▼ Mitsubishi 41,957 6.5% 64,506 7.9% 4,179 6.1%
5 ▼ Ford 40,938 6.3% 48,604 6.0% 4,816 7.0%
6 ▼ Kia 40,696 6.3% 46,360 5.7% 5,092 7.4%
7 ▼ Volkswagen 29,583 4.6% 37,709 4.6% 3,493 5.1%
8 ▼ Nissan 26,567 4.1% 38,343 4.7% 2,588 3.8%
9 ▼ Subaru 21,994 3.4% 30,701 3.8% 2,121 3.1%
10 ▼ Honda 21,877 3.4% 34,210 4.2% 1,678 2.4%

Ford Ranger is the top model with 3726 sold, which is up 19.6%. Only 3 of the top 10 are passenger cars, as Australia continues a transmission to SUV and LCV ownership.

Rank Vehicle Sep-20 Sep-19 % diff
         
1. Ford Ranger 3726 3116 19.6%
2. Toyota Hi-Lux 3610 3364 7.3%
3. Toyota RAV4 2433 1716 41.8%
4. Hyundai i30 1786 2447 -27.0%
5. Mazda CX-5 1765 2355 -25.1%
6. Toyota Landcruiser 1599 1611 -0.7%
7. Kia Cerato 1599 2022 -20.9%
8. Toyota Corolla 1462 2219 -34.1%
9. Mitsubishi Triton 1446 3001 -51.8%
10. Hyundai Tucson 1199 1488 -19.4%
11. Toyota Camry 1192 1186 0.5%
12. Mazda CX-3 1188 1317 -9.8%
13. Mazda3 1134 1696 -33.1%
14. Isuzu Ute D-Max 1118 1346 -16.9%
15. Kia Seltos 1089 0 N/A
16. Nissan Navara 1072 1114 -3.8%
17. Hyundai Kona 1036 1254 -17.4%
18. Volkswagen Golf 942 1157 -18.6%
19. Mitsubishi ASX 940 2419 -61.1%
20. Nissan XTrail 888 1769 -49.8%

While it is too early to call final figures, on current trends, 2020 would be around 800,000 vehicles sold. That is 1/3 off the 2018 numbers and would be a real worry for auto makers.

2020 is the final year for Holden, as the dealerships have all but disappeared. Corvette will be imported under a new “brand, GMSV, along with Silverado. So, all is not lost, yet.

The other of the big two, Ford, now shares a 6.3% market share with KIA. That’s great news for KIA, but terrible news for Ford.

Ford has moved 40,938 vehicles to September 2020. Ranger accounted for all but 12,707 sales, with Everest at 4,098, the Ranger/Everest duo account for more than ¾ of all Fords sold. That must be a concern for the big American.

Despite FCAI claims of a possible upturn, the Australian market was in free-fall long before COVID.

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