Car sales on a high in the Tweed with buyers back

NEW car sales were at an 18-year high last month according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

NEW car sales were at an 18-year high last month according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Annual sales reached over 1 million and there were 96,655 new cars sold in November alone.

The top sellers were the Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 and Toyota Camry, which shows the Australian trend towards more efficient vehicles and away from large cars, although four of the top ten vehicles sold were the ever-popular utes.

Owner of Tweed Heads Victory Ford Victor Lapardin said that he thought sales were high because people kept their old cars longer.

"My personal opinion is that there's a record high because people have put purchases off over the last three years," he said.

Mr Lapardin thought that competitive pricing in the market was due to buyers researching exactly what they want out of a vehicle, and for how much.

"Most customers have researched on the internet so there's often not a lot of negotiating going on," he said.

The fuel efficient Focus Diesel was Mr Lapardin's top seller and it was followed up by the Ford Ranger and the new Falcon Eco-Boost.

Mr Lapardin said car yards have had a solid year of sales.

"I think the market is quite good, and I think most car yards in Tweed are doing well thanks to the support of the community," he said.

He hoped the industry continued to thrive next year.