Vehicles sales suffer significant drop
C
OVID-19 is not only playing havoc with
events but is also having a major effect
on automotive sales, with the Federal
Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI),
releasing new vehicle sales figures for the
month of March 2020.
Sales for the month totaled 81,690, consisting
of 21,777 passenger vehicles for a 26.7 per cent
share of the market, 39,171 SUVs (48.0 per cent
share) and 18,162 light commercial vehicles (22.2
per cent share).
These figures represent negative growth of 17.9
per cent when compared to March 2019 and are
mainly attributed to the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on the general economy.
Toyota was the best-selling brand in March, with
17,583 sales recorded. In second place was
Mazda with 6,819 sales, followed by Mitsubishi
with 6,002 sales, Kia with 5,654 sales and Hyundai
with 5,306 sales.
The top-selling vehicle in March was the Toyota Hi-
Lux with 3,556 sales, followed by the Ford Ranger
(3,108 sales), Toyota RAV 4 (2,991 sales), Toyota
Corolla (2,812 sales) and the Holden Colorado
(2,391 sales).
Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, said
that despite the difficult conditions, numerous
automotive dealerships around Australia
remained open.