General News
21 November, 2024
More plug-in hybrids are on offer to astute buyers
NEW plug-in hybrid models in the SUV and light commercial (mainly dual-cab) sectors are proving popular with buyers as these practical vehicles dominate the top 10 in new vehicle sales. Of the top 10 last month, six were SUVs with the other four LCVs.
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said SUVs and LCVs were now controlling the market.
He said the SUV and LCV segments had been previously dominated by petrol and diesel models but now plug-in hybrids had entered the fray.
“This is significant given the overwhelming popularity of SUVs and light commercial vehicles in Australia,” Mr Weber said.
He said that the battery electric vehicle share of new sales remained subdued despite an increasing number of new brands entering the market and substantial tax benefits available to some buyers through the FBT concession. “Many of these new EV sales are in the highly competitive medium passenger segment which already records almost 50 per cent of sales being electric but the segment accounting for just over four per cent of total sales,” Mr Weber said.
“This activity across segments and models highlights the competitiveness of our market and the increasing choice available to consumers across vehicle and fuel types.
“It will be interesting to see how this translates to an increase in sales momentum in the run up to the end of year result in December.”
Sales have totalled more than a million to date with 98,375 new vehicles sold in October 2024, but it also shows that growth is easing in the last quarter.
The October result is 7.9 per cent down on the same month last year and continues the easing of the market during the second half of 2024.
However, it is the second-best October result on record and brings the year-to-date sales total to 1,025,621.
“While not at the record levels of 2023, the October result is solid,” Mr Weber said. “However, we remain concerned about the continuing performance of the private buyers segment which was down 14.2 per cent this month following a reduction of 17.2 per cent in September,” he said.
“This does indicate that economic pressures are a concern for families across the country.”
Toyota was the market leader with sales of 18,471 in October, followed by Ford (8581), Mazda (7656), Hyundai (7086) and Kia (6602).
Sixth was Mitsubishi (5590), then MG (5206), Isuzu Ute (3651), GWM (3350) and Nissan (3050).
The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s top selling vehicle with sales of 4841 followed by Ford Ranger (4757), Toyota HiLux (4523), Ford Everest (2668) and Isuzu Ute D-Max (2295).
Sixth was Toyota Landcruiser (2288), Kia Sportage (2136), Mitsubishi Outlander (1901), Mazda CX-5 (1833) and Hyundai Tucson (1803).
