DROPPING OFF A CLIFF

NEW car sales in Australia continued to tank in April under the effects of the global pandemic with the total local market down 48.5 per cent over the same month last year. This represents the largest single decrease of any month of sales since VFACTS figures were first recorded back in 1991.

4x4 utes continue to sell well compared to other vehicles but even they are down 39.2 per cent over last April and 19.9 per cent year-to-date. The Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux still dominate the segment, not just in 4x4 utes but 4x4s and new car sales overall.

Hilux took the honours for April, selling 1883 4x4 units over the Ranger’s 1419 to pull back on the Ford’s overall year-to-date lead in the 4x4 market.

Holden Colorado sales seem to have gone back to normal after a boom in March as the model is run-out following the closure of the Holden brand. A total of 780 Colorados found new homes in April compared to 2186 in March, and we’d suggest you get in quick if you want to secure one of the heavily discounted Holdens before they are gone forever. The Holden Colorado and Trailblazer will drop off lists altogether in the coming months.

Mitsubishi Triton also cooled dramatically in April, with its 355 sales dropping it way down the sales chart; its third spot year-to-date remains secure, though. That said, another poor month for Triton will see the Prado nipping at its heels. The Toyota Prado, Landcruiser wagons and LC79 utes all outsold the Mitsubishi in April to help Toyota maintain its overall market leadership for the year, with 18.7 per cent of the overall new-car market.

It will be some time yet before we see a turnaround in the market as buyer confidence improves. New and refreshed models for the Isuzu D-MAX, Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger in the third quarter should help push things along, but we don’t expect to see numbers like we had back in the 20-teens.