Australian consumers have shrugged-off lingering economic uncertainty and question marks about interest rate rises by taking delivery of an all-time record 108,722 new cars in the month of June. Year-to-date for the six months which ended on 30 June, new car sales were 531,168 vehicles – 16.7 per cent higher than the same six months last year.
For the Financial year which also ended on 30 June, 1,013,273 new car sales were recorded – only the third time in history Australia has cracked the one million mark for new cars sales in a Financial Year. The Canberra-based Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is now predicting our new car sales this year will top 980,000 vehicles.
Toyota remained our most popular brand in June with sales of 21,257 vehicles – 7,421 ahead of second-paced Holden with Ford placed third (10,012 sales). Holden Commodore was again our most-popular model - its 4697 sales represented Commodores best individual month for a year.
Hyundai was the biggest-selling importer with 8,055 sales in June – its second-best month on record.
Cause for celebrations at Mercedes-Benz too with the German giant posting 1976 sales in June – the company’s best ever sales month in its 52-year Australian history.
Overall for the first six months of the year, SUVs were our fastest-growing segment (up 30.8 per cent) – again proving Australian private and commercial buyers, like our friends in North America, appreciate the extra practicality and convenience.
