BMW escapes carnage as car sales crash 48.5pc

BMW has dodged the worst monthly crash in new car sales in 30 years, shedding 5.7pc against a near halving of the auto market.

BMW managed to contain its losses to 5.7 per cent in April.

BMW has dodged the worst monthly crash in new car sales in 30 years, shedding almost 6 per cent against a near halving of the broader auto market as the economy hits the skids from coronavirus-fuelled shutdowns.

The German carmaker posted a 5.7 per cent fall in sales in Australia in April while the broader market crashed 48.5 per cent — its worst monthly drop since VFACT records began in 1991. The dive across the broader new car market further underscores how quickly coronavirus has infected the economy, following toll road giant Transurban reporting a 50 per cent fall in traffic, and petrol prices plunging to their lowest in almost two decades as Australians remain in lockdown.

But BMW, which now counts Scott Morrison as one its customers as the commonwealth replaces its ageing fleet of Holden Caprices with BMW 6 Series GTs, appears to have avoided the carnage, which has crumpled brands from Ford to Ferrari.

The Munich-headquartered company sold 1703 cars last month, outselling the world’s biggest carmaker Volkswagen, which sold 1328 cars — a 62.1 per cent decline on the same period last year. BMW also came within 550 cars of outselling Hyundai, which posted a 65.3 per cent fall in sales.

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It sold almost double its competitor, fellow German brand Mercedes-Benz, which reported 981 sales or a 54.4 per cent drop in line with the broader market, as almost a third of Australians have experienced falls in their incomes, limiting discretionary spending, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

While BMW Group Australia chief executive Vikram Pawah said the company had been able to maintain sales through at-home test drives and video service consultations among other measures to combat coronavirus, the company’s sales figures renewed calls for an overhaul of VFACT figures.

VFACTs counts all registered cars — including demos that have never left a dealership — as a sale, leaving it potentially open to manipulation from manufacturers.

The integrity of the data is critical, given the Reserve Bank, the ABS and market analysts rely on VFACTs as one of their measures to gauge the health of the economy and the auto industry.

The Australian Automotive Dealer Association on Tuesday called on VFACTs to separate a demo car “sale” from a genuine sale, involving a customer taking delivery of a vehicle, to ensure the data’s reliability.

Ferrari, which reported an 18.2 per cent sales decrease in April, confirmed its usually cashed-up Australian customer base was tightening its belt, with chief executive Louis Camilleri singling out Australia and the US as the countries with the most order cancellations.

“Our order book, assuming full production capacity, extends well beyond 12 months on average and clearly varies according to each model and geography. Importantly, those models that generate the highest margins have the longest waiting lists,” Mr Camilleri said.

“As of now, we have yet to witness any abnormal or untoward cancellations, although several have been incurred primarily in Australia and the United States, but nothing so far that we would deem to be alarming.”

BMW has benefited from the federal government and Victoria and NSW police selecting its models to replace its ageing fleet of Holdens.

But The Australian can reveal the commonwealth took delivery of 15 BMWs last month, while Victoria Police took delivery of nine M5 sedans for use across its highway patrol vehicle fleet — hardly enough to influence sales.

Regardless, Mr Pawah said the company was delighted with its April sales.

“The April sales result … reflects a focus on promoting our continually expanding line-up of vehicles that not only leads in every aspect but which also resonates very strongly in the local market,” Mr Pawah said.

“Our close collaboration with our dealer partners has also seen numerous measures implemented to assist our valued customers and provide a safe, reassuring experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, from at-home test drives to video service consultations … (and) in-dealer social-distancing measures.”