Sales of small cars continue to boom


Quote Originally Posted by Drive
A continued boom in small car sales has helped Australia's motor industry notch record sales in January.


A continued boom in small car sales has helped Australia's motor industry notch record sales in January.

Some 76,936 new cars, trucks and buses were sold last month - the best ever January result and a 9.9 per cent increase on vehicles sold in January last year.

But the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries doesn't expect the sales rise to continue throughout the entire year.

Chamber chief executive Peter Sturrock said a 10 per cent rise over the year would result in annual motor sales topping one million for the first time.

But he said the chamber was forecasting annual sales of 970,000 this year.

A total of 962,666 vehicles were sold in Australia last year - a 2.5 per cent fall on the 2005 all-time record of 988,269.

Mr Sturrock said last month's result was underpinned by a 26.3 per cent increase in small car sales from last January.

"This is a long-term trend beyond petrol price volatility," he said.

"(It's) part of a fundamental shift in consumer preferences that has been gathering momentum for a couple of years."

In line with the trend, Toyota's Corolla was Australia's most popular vehicle in January with 3485 sales, pipping Holden's Commodore with 3474 sales.

The chamber also noted strong performances in the family vehicle sectors of four wheel drive (SUV) medium and large cars.

Mr Sturrock said medium SUV sales rose 17 per cent while large car sales levelled out after last year's decline - down 0.9 per cent.

"The reduction in petrol prices in December and January played a part in better sales of family sedans and wagons, but equally significant was new model activity in both segments," he said.

He said the January figures were consistent with bullish consumer sentiment evident in record Christmas and post-Christmas retail sales.

Toyota was the bestselling brand in January with 16,238 sales, ahead of Holden (11,258) and Ford (7501).

***********

The top 10 market leaders in motor vehicle sales in January 2007:

Toyota - 16,238 sales

Holden - 11,258

Ford - 7501

Mazda - 6627

Honda - 5435

Nissan - 5085

Mitsubishi - 4554

Subaru - 3097

Hyundai - 3067

Volkswagen - 2034
So much for the billion dollar baby I still don't see why the hell you would buy a Corolla anyway. What is it about them that is so appealing? The bland looks and cheap interior? I wonder how much they will sell when the new model comes soon...