Record car sales defy gloom

Mazda's new CX-5 was a popular choice for buyers during May.

Stock market carnage and high petrol prices can't slow buyer demand.
New car buyers have ignored economic gloom and high fuel prices, setting a new sales record for May, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Sales in May were up almost 20,000 units over April and 25 per cent up on the previous May as consumer confidence remained high and Japanese car makers continued to ramp up supply after last year’s Japanese tsunami and Thai floods.
The natural disasters led to a backlog of orders that are only now being filled, said Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing boss, Matthew Callachor.

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“We had a good month right across the board, so that suggests there is a strong demand,” Callachor said. “If we didn’t have the backlog would we have done those figures? No, but there is still strong demand there.”
Petrol prices may have been pushing the $1.50 mark during the past few weeks but that hasn’t stopped buyers rushing for the thirstiest vehicles on the market. Total SUV sales were up more than 50 per cent for the month; driven largely by the family-friendly Toyota Prado and Mazda CX-5.
Sales are predominantly being driven by private buyers, most notably in the SUV segment, where year-to-date sales are up 34.1 per cent.
One of the biggest factors in the sales spike was the increased supply from car companies that are finally recovering fully from last year’s natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.
Toyota sales for May 2012 were a huge 85 per cent up over the same month last year. The Japanese-built Corolla, Kluger, RAV4 and Yaris models were all up by more than 100 per cent over last May; and the Prado and Prius enjoyed more than 200 per cent growth on May 2011.
The sales boom failed to extend to locally made large cars, though. They fell by 12 per cent, with the Holden Commodore – Australia’s top-selling car for 15 years before it was deposed last year – falling to fifth in the rankings.
The Commodore was beaten by its small car stable mate, the Holden Cruze, while the Ford Falcon suffered a worse fate, being outsold by the Ford Focus small car, the Ranger work ute and the Territory SUV.
Small cars continue to dominate the top end of the sales chart with the Mazda3, Toyota Corolla and Cruze finishing second, third and fourth respectively for the month.
But it was the tradies’ favourite that topped the sales charts for the second consecutive month; the Toyota HiLux. The Nissan Navara ute was the sixth best-seller, proving that workhorse vehicles remain a popular choice, especially with business buyers.
Callachor is confident that the market will remain strong for the remainder of the year.
“Personally, I’m still forecasting more than a million sales this year. There’s nothing I can see that would stop that,” he says.