Australia’s new vehicle market cooled slightly in June, a total of 130,300 new cars were sold last month according to VFACTS figures, a drop of 2.9 per cent when compared to June 2017.

 

Despite the drop, at the halfway mark of the calendar year, the new vehicle market remains 1 per cent higher than the first six months of 2017 with a cumulative total of 605,522 units.

 

Passenger car sales experienced the biggest decline, falling a significant 17.9 per cent compared to the same month last year. SUVs picked up some of the slack with a 9.3 per cent increase.

 

SUVs are now comfortably the market’s largest segment holding a 43.1 per cent share of the June market, with the passenger car share at 31.9 per cent, and light commercials at 21.8 per cent.

 

Our love of utes shows no signs of slowing, the three top-selling vehicles during June were light commercial vehicles, with the Toyota HiLux leading the market ahead of the Ford Ranger and the Mitsubishi Triton third. It should be noted the end of the Financial Year is generally a time when cars used for business purposes are upgraded.

 

As always, Toyota set the pace with 23,171 sales, although this is a 5.6 per cent drop over June 2017, the Japanese juggernaut claims it has had its best start to a year since 2008 with total new car sales of 111,854. 

 

Along with the dominance of the HiLux and Corolla (the top-selling passenger car), Toyota reported the Kluger (1757), RAV4 (2690) and C-HR (915) all recorded best-ever numbers in June.

 

Remarkably, the LandCruiser 70 Series hit a 20-year monthly high of 1311, up 31.5 per cent on June last year.

 

Mitsubishi set a new monthly record in June, the brand achieved its highest ever monthly sales of 10,232 units and exceeded 10,000 units in one month for the first time ever.

 

Speaking of records, Honda also achieved a record month of new-vehicle sales in June with 7,013 vehicles sold, a 34 per cent increase year on year. Honda is one of 2018’s biggest movers with the CR-V and HR-V SUV models driving growth.

 

Volkswagen dropped slightly (1.8 per cent) but set new records for the Golf (2317), Tiguan (1340) and the Amarok ute (1250). Interestingly, the Amarok V6 range now accounts for more than 70 per cent of the ute's sales. It’s a big deal when you consider the average retail price is over $60,000.

 

Isuzu remains the king of the ute-based SUV, the brand holds a 32 per cent segment share. Since the start of the year, the MU-X has clocked up 4,385 sales to be in 4th position in the SUV-Large segment.

 

At the top end of town, Land Rover found some form to sell 1297 cars, an increase of 22 per cent over June last year. There are discounts to be had on the Discovery and Discovery Sport if you are an astute negotiator. Sister brand Jaguar also had a win with 361 registrations (up 39.9 per cent).

 

Volvo continues to build momentum to sell 643 cars (up 14.4 per cent). The arrival of the XC40 has opened the gates for many buyers.

 

On the back of an extensive promotional campaign, Peugeot managed to get into the black selling 359 cars, an improvement of 108.7 per cent.

 

Ford and Holden continue to falter dropping 15.4 and 20.4 per cent respectively. It’s a surprise in Holden’s case, the Astra, Equinox and Commodore are good cars, meaning the price structure is the likely issue. Holden has recently moved to a five-year warranty to win back consumer confidence. It needs to be said, the move hasn’t helped Ford.

 

MG (330 units) is doing well on the back of the new ZS SUV, its sharp styling and excellent pricing are hard to ignore. Other Chinese brands kicking goals were Great Wall with 121 sales (up 157.4 per cent) and LDV with 616 registrations (up 102.6 per cent).

 

Top selling new vehicles - June 2018

 

Top 10 selling vehicle brands - June 2018

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