Four-wheel drives top Aussie vehicles sales in June
New figures show four out the top five vehicles sold in Australia were four-wheel drives. See what came out on top.
Australia’s love affair with four-wheel drives was reaffirmed last month with new figures showing an increase in sales.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries released its June figures on Friday, which revealed an increase in new vehicle sales last month, with 110,234 vehicles sold.
Four of the five top-selling vehicles were four-wheel drive vehicles, reflecting the unique nature of the Australian market.
The top-selling vehicle was the Toyota Hi-Lux with 6537 sales (up 21.1 per cent on June 2019), followed by the Ford Ranger with 5329 sales (up 9.9 per cent), the Toyota Corolla with 3008 sales (down 4.1 per cent), the Toyota Landcruiser with 2909 sales (up 23.3 per cent) and the Mitsubishi Triton with 2721 sales (up 1 per cent).
Stimulus packages from the Federal Government, such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker, and increasing the instant asset write-off threshold to $150,000, have helped restore some consumer confidence and supported the small sales increase last month.
However, June represents the 27th consecutive month of decreasing sales for the automotive industry.
The FCAI said while this represents a decrease of 6.4 per cent over June 2019, it is the strongest result since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, which saw March sales down 17.9 per cent, April sales down 48.5 per cent and May sales down 35.3 per cent.
FCAI chief executive, Tony Weber, attributed the slight recovery to the easing of coronavirus restrictions, seasonality, the extension of the Federal Government’s instant asset write-off scheme, and brand and dealer pro-activity.
“Some states have seen the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, and this has increased floor traffic through dealerships,” Mr Weber said.
“In addition, June is traditionally a very strong month for new vehicle sales. The end of financial year campaigns are well known, so it’s an excellent time for businesses and consumers to replace their vehicles.
“The extension of the Government’s instant asset write-off scheme has also been a positive influence.
“This program allows businesses to bring forward tax deductions for eligible expenditure.”
Toyota was the best-selling brand last month, with 22,867 sales recorded, followed by Mazda with 9420 sales, Hyundai (7737), Ford (7624) and Mitsubishi (7419).
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