Australians bought 74,214 new vehicles in April – 7,187 or 8.8 per cent less than April 2010.
Industry analysts point to the natural disasters in Queensland and Victoria as the main reason for the slight decline. Some dealerships in Queensland are still rebuilding and many residents there and in key Victorian regional markets need a replacement garage let alone a new car to put in it.
Additionally some dealerships are short of new vehicle stock with Victoria (head office for many major automotive companies) affected by a wharf dispute which left car-carrying ships idle in Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay and unable to unload.
Japanese brands are also feeling the effects of the earthquake and tsunami which disrupted production.
Toyota retained top spot with 13,683 sales for the month, ahead of Holden with 9,113.
But the big mover was Hyundai, number three for the month with total sales of 6,857, ahead of fourth-placed Ford (6,465) and Mazda (6,346).
Overall new car sales so far this year total 322,678 vehicles – 3.2 per cent lower than the same period in 2010.
Passenger car sales continue to decline, will all segments except compact cars down on last year. For SUVs, the sales growth continues with 76,068 sales until the end of April – that’s 1.9 per cent ahead of 2010.
