Carmakers' fear of slow 2015 throttled
Despite concerns within the industry that 2015 may see a plateau in new vehicles sales, last month’s registration figures were some of the strongest since records began.
The Motor Industry Association’s chief executive officer, David Crawford, said February numbers for commercial registrations were the strongest on record while new passenger vehicle figures were the best since 1989.
“The sales momentum from January has flowed into February, up 8 per cent on February 2014, being the strongest since 1984,” said Crawford.
Toyota was the overall market leader for February with 16 per cent of market share (1552 units) followed by Ford with 10 per cent (977 units) and Holden just behind with 971 units.
February was a strong month for Mazda, taking second and third spot in new passenger vehicle segment.
Toyota’s Corolla was the top-selling passenger vehicle last month with 4 per cent share (302 units), followed by the Mazda CX-5 with 3 per cent share (210 units) and the Mazda3, also with 3 per cent market share (206 units).
Toyota took top spot in the commercial vehicle market with the Hilux taking 4 per cent of the market (427 units), taking out last year’s number one ute, the Ford Ranger (381 units).
The sports utility vehicles segment continues to dominant new vehicle sales with 32 per cent market share for February followed by pick-ups/chassis-cabs with 20 per cent market share and small passenger cars on 15 per cent.
“New vehicle sales for 2015 continue to reflect a strong economy, with year to date sales 10 per cent on this time last year,” said Crawford.