New car sales drying up fast, stricter lending blamed

SALES of new cars continue to slide, with Australia’s peak motor industry group blaming factors including stricter lending conditions.

The number of vehicles sold nationally last month was down 6.9 per cent from the same month last year, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Toyota’s Hi-Lux was again the top-selling model despite a 22.5 per cent drop in sales to 3364.

In all, 88,181 new vehicles were sold in September, down 6530 from a year earlier.

It marked the 18th consecutive month of decreasing sales, but the decline was nonetheless an improvement on a 10.1 per cent drop in August.

Chamber chief executive Tony Weber questioned it had become “too difficult for people to finance basic purchases in today’s Australia”.

“It is clear the slower sales rate the market is experiencing is in line with the broader economic environment in Australia,” Mr Weber said.

“Of particular concern to the industry is the restrictive regulatory lending conditions currently facing consumers.”

The slumps in September and August followed falls of 2.8 per cent in July, 9.6 per cent in June, 8.1 per cent in May and 8.9 per cent in April.

For the year to September, vehicle sales totalled 811,464 — down 69,541, or 7.9 per cent, from the same time a year earlier.

Passenger vehicles bore the brunt of the losses in September, down 18.3 per cent to 24,893, while the light commercial market also decreased 5.4 per cent to 18,257.

The sports utility market was the only segment to buck the trend, marginally lifting sales by 1.1 per cent to 41,861.

The Mitsubishi Triton was the biggest individual climber for the month while Toyota was most popular brand. AAP