2008 Car Industry Sales Figures
The total was 1,012,164, which was down 37,818 vehicles sales on 2007 figures. The passenger market at 596,765 vehicles was down by 40,254 vehicles (-6.3%). All segments shared this decline with the Large car segment down 20,118 (-14.4%); the Medium car segment, down 5,300 (-5.7%); the Small car segment down 3,925 (-1.7%); the Upper Large car segment down 3,879 (-41.5%); the People mover segment down 3,556 (-21.9%); the Sports car segment down 2,185 (-11.5%) and the Light car segment down 1,291 (-1.0%). Toyota was again the top selling make, followed by Holden and Ford. Toyota's performance was again outstanding delivering 238,983 vehicles - 2,336 more than its previous record set in the boom sales year of 2007. It finished the year 108,645 vehicles ahead of its nearest rival - the first time the gap had exceeded 100,000. Toyota senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said, "the true test in 2008 came in the strength of demand for Toyota vehicles in the second half of the year, when the economy was coming off the boil. "Monthly average sales for Toyota in the second half were in excess of 18,590 compared with 19,900 for the year, indicating high levels of customer support."
In 2008 Toyota led nine of the 12 VFACTS vehicle sales categories in which it participated. It led passenger car, SUV and light commercial vehicle categories. Both its Corolla and HiLux models had been outright monthly market leaders for a cumulative four months. "The market is by no means in universal decline," Mr Buttner said. Toyota lifted its new vehicle sales 1.0 per cent, while the overall market retreated by 3.6 per cent, largely due to the deteriorating economy," he said Mr Buttner said Toyota's improved market share - up from 22.5 per cent in 2007 to 23.6 per cent in 2008 - was particularly significant. Five of the top 10 sellers are Toyotas - Corolla, HiLux, Yaris, Camry and Aurion. For the record, Toyota was the only company to surpass 200,000 sales in Australia. In 2008 it sold 238,983. It has achieved its 200,000 plus feat for the past five years. Toyota's sales total of 238,983 is more than the combined total of its two nearest rivals, GM (130,338) and Ford (104,715). Despite Toyota's strong performance, Holden bucked the trend of declining large car sales, with Commodore continuing its unbroken run as Australia's most popular car. Company's that saw growth in 2008 included Audi, Fiat, Maserati, Renault, Volkswagen and Jaguar.
Top 10 manufacturers for 2008:
Manufacturer: Volume / Market share 2008 / 2007
1. Toyota: 238,983 / 23.6% / 22.5%
2. Holden: 130,338 / 12.9% /14.0%
3. Ford: 104,715 / 10.3% / 10.3%
4. Mazda: 79,826 / 7.9% / 7.4%
5. Mitsubishi: 60,692 / 6.0% / 6.2%
6. Nissan: 59,214 / 5.9% / 5.7%
7. Honda: 52,214 / 5.2% / 5.8%
8. Hyundai: 45,409 / 4.5% / 4.8%
9. Subaru: 38,492 / 3.8% / 3.7%
10. Volkswagen: 29,875 / 3.0% / 2.6%
