The problem with Holden sales

[Express]

Hyundai i30 Oz's top selling car


Hyundai beats Holden – again – while ute sales and luxury cars strengthen in buoyant May.


Sam Charlwood
3 June, 2016


Hyundai has stormed to the top of the Aussie car charts yet again, with the i30 hatchback outselling rivals for the third consecutive month in May.

Preliminary industry figures obtained by Drive reveal the small car bested both the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 to be the top selling car in the land in May, underlining another buoyant trading period for the industry. The i30's result reflects an aggressive $19,990 driveaway price from the South Korean manufacturer that falls well under the regular $20,990 plus on-road costs RRP.

The result leveraged third-placed Hyundai further ahead of languishing Holden, which sits in fourth spot overall year-to-date. Toyota and Mazda have streaked ahead at the top of the charts after both enjoying strong sales in May.

Holden sales were down 8 per cent for the month of May, contributing to a 6.9 per cent nosedive year-to-date. Volkswagen was the only other marque within the top 10 brands to suffer a loss for the month as the fallout from the emissions cheating scandal continues.

Worryingly for Holden, it is continually losing ground to fifth-placed Ford, reflecting the uptake in the blue oval's imported models as it prepares to shutter its local manufacturing operations in October. Almost half of Holden's May sales were vehicles produced in Australia, at 48 per cent; Ford's result comprised 21 per cent locally produced cars by comparison.

Conversely, Kia snuck into the top 10 for May after a 24 per cent jump in sales. Sales year-to-date are up 26 per cent for the South Korean brand.

The tussle at the top underlined another strong month for the industry, which is 3.8 per cent higher year-to-date than last year's record stretch. The industry finished 3.6 per cent higher than May of 2015.

Key to the renewed market was consolidated utility and trade sales, which will again be a factor in June's end-of-financial-year blitz. The Toyota HiLux was the second-best selling vehicle for May, featuring alongside the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara within the top 10.

At the other end of the market Mercedes-Benz streaked further ahead of BMW and Audi in the luxury segment. The three-pointed star is 25 per cent up year-to-date on 2015, sitting 10th overall in the market. Audi and BMW are also up on last year's posts.

The result comes as the industry gears up for the biggest month of the year in June. Keep an eye out for Drive's EOFY trade buyer's guide next week.


Top 10 makes – May

Toyota – 17,201 (+8 per cent)

Mazda - 9608 (+10.2 per cent)

Hyundai - 9005 (+8.9 per cent)

Holden - 7405 (-6.9 per cent)

Ford - 6584 (+9.8 per cent)

Mitsubishi – 6154 (+0.9 per cent)

Nissan - 5585 (+25 per cent)

Volkswagen – 4565 (-17.5 per cent)

Suburu – 4002 (+6.0 per cent)

Kia – 3542 (+26 per cent)


Top 10 models - May

Hyundai i30 – 3771

Toyota HiLux – 3675

Toyota Corolla – 3333

Mazda3 - 3243

Ford Ranger – 3115

Holden Commodore – 2255

Mazda CX-5 - 2117

Mitsubishi Triton – 2021

Volkswagen Golf – 1840

Nissan Navara - 1752

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/h...03-gpapfm.html