Australia boasted once again record year of new auto sales in last year with the market revealing a distinct shift in preference to pick up trucks and sport utility vehicles, while all the growth was driven by company demand.
The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ VFACTS noted that 1.178 million vehicles had been sold in 2016, 2 percent higher than in 2015.
“Calender year 2016 marks the straight seventh year that the Australian new car market has topped 1 million sales, and this outcome posts the industry’s third record in 4 years,” stated FCAI chief executive, Tony Weber.
Light industrial automobiles took 18.5 percent of the market in last year, rise of 17.2 percent the year before, a bullish sign for business financial investment.
Certainly, sales to companies increased by 13 percent throughout the years, while rental sales increased 6 percent. In contrast, private sales dropped by 5.8 percent and federal government sales by 1.4 percent.
Weber mentioned Toyota’s Hilux topped the sales charts throughout the year, the first time a pickup won that honor.
For December alone, sales totaled up to 98,763 automobiles a dip of 0.9 percent on December 2015. Sales of light industrial automobiles leapt 8.5 percent compared with December 2015, while passenger automobiles and SUVs slipped.
Toyota Motor maintained top place on the sales ladder for both December and the year. It took 17.8 percent for last year, the same from 2015.
Mazda Motor held 2nd spot for the year with 10 percent of the marketplace, pipping Hyundai Motor at 8.6 percent.
The Holden unit of General Motors observed its share slip almost a full percentage point to 8.0 percent, while Ford held 6.9 percent of the marketplace.
