Hyundai i30 leads Australian car sales in June — for a record fourth month in a row

HYUNDAI has shocked the car industry by selling a record number of its i30 hatchbacks in June — as car dealers explain the car’s sweet spot with drivers.

The Hyundai i30 is showing strong sales growth again. Picture: Supplied

HYUNDAI has shocked the car industry by selling a record number of its i30 hatchbacks in June — in the process setting a staggering 11-year high for any new vehicle sold.

Hyundai reported 6400 of its i30 hatchbacks were sold last month, driven by a bargain basement $19,990 drive-away price that was $7000 off its RRP.

The last time any car reached such a high monthly sales number was in June 2005, when the Holden Commodore delivered 6800 vehicles to new homes.

The Hyundai i30’s sales number — which is more than three times the monthly average for the car — has sparked widespread industry speculation that not all vehicles were delivered to customers and that a large proportion were “cyber cars”, vehicles that have been reported as sold but not delivered or registered.

Contrary to perception, new-car sales figures are self-reported by car dealers and the car industry.

Although new cars cannot be counted twice, the sales figures are not based on actual registrations.

Hyundai dealers who spoke to News Corp Australia on condition of anonymity said the i30 sales numbers in June were “fairly straight” and “not as bad as some other brands that were asking us to call cars (declare them as sold).”

“Hyundai had a bit of a push at the end of the month but it would be less than about 10 per cent of our total order take on i30,” said a leading metropolitan Hyundai dealer.

The Hyundai i30 has an appealing price of $19,990 drive-away. Picture: Supplied

Hyundai’s success may be about to come to an end, though, because it has raised the price of the i30 in July by $3000, to $22,990 drive-away. A manual version of the car is now $20,990 drive-away.

“We reckon sales will fall off a cliff now, $19,990 is the sweet spot for that car,” said another major Hyundai dealer.

Savvy customers may still be able to grab a bargain, however, because most dealers are sitting on unsold Hyundai i30 stock that was intended to be sold at $19,990 drive-away.

“It’s up to us to let them go for that price or charge somewhere in between $19,990 and the higher price,” said a Hyundai dealer.

The four-month sales surge has blasted the Hyundai i30 to lead new-car sales year-to-date ahead of the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3, our top sellers for the past five years.

Ute sales were also strong in June, with Toyota delivering 4600 HiLux pick-ups closely followed by Ford with 4050 Rangers.

The locally made Holden Commodore and Toyota Camry also performed well driven by new discount offers, with more than 3000 of each finding driveways.

Official sales figures for June are due to be published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries early next week.

But the preliminary data is based on accurate information shared by car makers at the end of each month.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling