Spacious cabin, larger boot space, and higher road clearance are some of the features that have made SUVs the bestselling vehicle in Australia. Although overall car sales in the country is declining, SUV sales is showing an upward trend.
SUV Sales Up by 5.4% from Last Year
The latest figures released by the FCAI show that the sale of SUVs in the country has increased in February 2020. Total sales for SUVs has increased from 37,292 in February 2019 to 39,304 in February 2020, reflecting a surge of 5.4%. The Australian auto market has recorded a total sale of 79,940 cars last month, and SUVs make up 49.2% (39,304 units) of this total.
Automakers in the country are eager to capitalise on the rising demand of the customers. Here, it is also pertinent to mention that SUV sale is increasing globally. The experts are hopeful that the SUV share in the international market will reach 40% by the year 2025.
Jeff Schuster, the president of the Americas Operation and Global Vehicle Forecasts, says that there’s little chance for this SUV trend to reverse. He is also of the view that SUV sales will cross 50% mark internationally by the end of 2020.
Negative Growth in the Auto Industry – 7th Quarter in a Row
Australia’s new-vehicle market has been showing a declining trend for the past 23 months. FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber says that sales are continuously falling in the local automotive market, and this is happening after seven consecutive quarters of negative growth.
The Australian auto industry is going through an extraordinarily difficult time. Usually, economists use the term recession when there is negative growth for two consecutive quarters, and the local industry has seen seven so far.
Despite this bleak trend, the auto market has recorded a sale of 15,523 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and 22,648 passenger vehicles. It shows that LCVs captured 19.4% of the market share, while passenger vehicles took 28.3% of the pie.
The recent announcement of Holden’s withdrawal from the Australian automotive industry will likely prolong this negative growth further. FCAI says that these challenging market conditions in the country are due to various factors that have shaken consumer confidence in the last couple of years. Some of these factors are political and financial uncertainties, while some are environmental conditions and the growing concerns over the recent devastation by the novel coronavirus.
Market Leaders & Bestselling Models
Toyota is still the market leader in the country, with 22.1% of total market shares. It has sold 17,679 vehicles in February, out of which 3,421 were Toyota Hilux making it once again the bestselling vehicle in the country. The second most favourite vehicle of Australians is Toyota Rav4, which recorded 3,375 sales in February 2020. Ford Ranger with 3,202 sales, Toyota Corolla with 2,520 sales, and Hyundai i30 with 2,152 sales occupy the third, fourth, and fifth places, respectively.
Mazda, with a market share of 9% and total sales of 7,230 vehicles, can rightfully claim the honour of being the second-best brand for Australians. Next in the lineup is Hyundai with 5,945 sales and 7.4% of market share. Mitsubishi and Kia claim the fourth and fifth positions, with 5,513 (6.9%) Mitsubishi and 5,120 (6.4%) Kia units handed to new-car buyers.
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