Records tumbled in a strong May for new car sales which saw the month’s total of 96,069 shatter May 2011 by 24.1 per cent or 18,668 vehicles.
Toyota continues to set the trend, maintaining number one position with 20,443 sales in May – 85.1 per-cent higher than May last year. Toyota sales so far this year amount to 84,386, well ahead of second-place Holden with 45,551.
For the second consecutive month, Toyota’s incredible HiLux ute was Australia’s number-one, best-selling vehicle, notching up sales of 4,626 – more than 40 per-cent up on any other vehicle. Toyota models Yaris, Camry, LandCruiser, Prado, LandCruiser200, HiAce van, HiAce bus, HiLux 4x4 and HiLux 4x2 were all the top-selling vehicle in their segments.
Holden was second again last month with sales of 9,017 vehicles, ahead of Mazda which racked-up 8,346.
Ford bounced-back in May, securing fourth ranking with sales of 7,738 vehicles.
Hyundai holds fourth place year-to-date but slipped to sixth position in May with sales of 6,886 vehicles.
Nissan was one of the record-breakers, setting a new best-ever May with sales of 6,966 to be ranked number five best-selling brand for the month. Nissan’s Dualis was the star performer, almost doubling its May 2011 tally while Navara and X-Trail also reached new heights.
Subaru also enjoyed a record May with total sales of 3803, dominated by the new-generation Impreza with 1033 sales (50.1 per cent more than may last year) and Forester with 1109 sales.
Amongst the luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz continues to lead the way with total sales in May of 1917 vehicles and segment-best showings from a range of models including the new M-Class SUV, GL-Class large SUV, SLK roadster and S-Class sedan.
Renault too has reason to celebrate with 420 sales in May – the French giant’s best month in Australia for a decade.
Pleasingly overall, the May result was good news for vehicle companies and dealers with passenger cars up by 13.9 per-cent over the same month one year ago and SUV sales up by 56.6 per-cent. The Light Truck market looks buoyant too with sale up by 19.8 per-cent.
