Australians purchased 1,062,867 new vehicles in 2019 which is a staggering 7.8% drop on the year before and the lowest result since 2011. So, what did we buy? Australian new car sales in 2019 managed to exceed the magical 1…
Australian new car sales in 2019 managed to exceed the magical 1 million mark, but only just (1,062,867) with SUVs leading the charge despite a slight drop of 2.5% compared to 2018 realising a total market share of 45.5%. Light commercial vehicles continued their charge, finishing the year with 0.6% growth and 21.2% market share. Passenger vehicles fell by 3.1% to 29.7%.
In terms of sales in December, the year finished down 3.8% totalling 84,239 vehicle sales compared to sales in 2018.
Releasing the VFACTs figures, Tony Weber, chief executive at the FCAI, said: “First and foremost, and on behalf of the entire automotive industry, the Chamber would like to offer our condolences to those affected by the devastating bushfires that have ravaged Australia over the past weeks. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
“Regarding the actual new vehicle sales results: 2019 reflects a tough year for the Australian economy, with challenges including tightening of lending, movements in exchange rates, slow wages growth and, of course, the extreme environmental factors our country is experiencing,” Mr Weber said.
Here’s what we bought in 2019. Toyota HiLux (4×4 and 4×2) sold 47,649 vehicles, the Ford Ranger (4×4 and 4×2) was number two in the market with 40,960 sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla (30,468), the Hyundai i30 (28,378) and the Mitsubishi Triton (25,819). However, in terms of 4×4 sales, the Ford Ranger finished top dog in 2019 with 37,004 sales, the HiLux was second with 36,325 and the Mitsubishi Triton was third with 22,681 and the Holden Colorado was fourth with 15,560 sales.
