vFacts December 2014

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by naddis01

Sad sign of the times...

Past 6 months

Falcon
Jul - 493
Aug - 442
Sep - 467
Oct - 396
Nov - 411
Dec -578
Total - 2787

Aurion
Jul - 468
Aug - 406
Sep - 424
Oct - 405
Nov - 339
Dec - 867
Total - 2907

Thats about as humiliating as being beaten up and knocked out by a girl. Dishonour before death for Falcon. Didnt ever think Falcon would die whimpering in a corner like 380 did. Shame on you Ford Australia. And to MoFoCo USA, you will NOT be forgiven.

[LoudPipes]

Mustang will definitely have an appeal but whether that will turn into serious sales figures after the initial flurry, I doubt it.

I’ve never believed Mustang to be a real alternative to a 4 door family performance sedan.

Even for many performance enthusiasts it won’t matter how good it is, how well it’s priced or how appealing it would be to own one, it won’t be practical for those who have only one vehicle where 4 doors is the preferred option. That’s when mum will say I don’t want a coupe, let’s go looking at SUVs.

Coupes like convertibles may be appealing but have never been overly popular sales wise in Australia.

Having owned both over the years and without offending the owners here who have some fine old coupes, the 2 door thingy as a daily with kids can become a repeated nuisance after a while.

And convertibles in the hot Aussie sun and chilly winters means you can’t comfortably take advantage of them for much of the year and your next purchase will most likely be a hard top with a far more liveable sunroof.

And as far as Ford being on the nose, if that’s true then it doesn’t mean it can’t be turned around.

There is too much competition to ever reach the heights of the halo days but companies have remarketed themselves with success before and companies will do it again.

Ford needs to smarten up its advertising, it dealership network, make people feel welcome, move away from the we’re Aussie image, make potential customers understand that Ford Australia has good global products for sale. Hell look at all the people who are now getting around in Jeeps.

Not all is lost, the right marketing and PR companies could do wonders.

[Pepscobra]

Apparently the Merc C-class outsold both Falcon and Commodore last month...?
If true, it's a clear sign that the local offerings are simply being snubbed by the buying public, who just don't consider Falcon or Commodore desirable anymore, despite offering great value for money.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Which begs the question, how does Holden "keep" those sales post VF departure. In other words, once local production closes Holden needs a model to retain 30,000 units of volume. Will be interesting as full import status and being "Australia's own" will be a tough sell and large Rwd cars are rare in the GM world. So who has the better future post shutdown, Ford or Holden?

The manufacturer with the best post shutdown future is Toyota.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by tempted

Mustang is going to do nothing for Ford's sales or image as it's only going to be purchased by a small number of enthusiasts.

Not sure if its truly sunk in yet, but the Mustang will be the only affordable V8 available come 2018. There are atleast 1500 V8 buyers a month in this country, most buy Holdens at the moment.
That demographic isnt suddenly going to buy diesel VWs.

If Ford price the Mustang right it will easily outsell the current Falcon figures.
Over three years ago people laughed at me when I said the upcoming Ranger would outsell the Falcon and be the best selling Ford...

[newi]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Thats about as humiliating as being beaten up and knocked out by a girl. Dishonour before death for Falcon. Didnt ever think Falcon would die whimpering in a corner like 380 did. Shame on you Ford Australia. And to MoFoCo USA, you will NOT be forgiven.

Seems like even they managed to sell 471 380s in the last few months before production wrapped up - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-03-0...urther/1063022

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Not sure if its truly sunk in yet, but the Mustang will be the only affordable V8 available come 2018. There are atleast 1500 V8 buyers a month in this country, most buy Holdens at the moment.
That demographic isnt suddenly going to buy diesel VWs.

If Ford price the Mustang right it will easily outsell the current Falcon figures.
Over three years ago people laughed at me when I said the upcoming Ranger would outsell the Falcon and be the best selling Ford...

What is your sales prediction for Mustang once the initial rush is over?

[naddis01]

From Russ' sales stats...

Mondeo / Medium Segment
In December, a poor 98 Ford Mondeos were sold for a three place drop into 7th place. The segment lead was held by the Toyota Camry which sold 2,374 ahead of the Mazda 6 (397); VW Jetta (342 and up three), VW Passat (264) and the Nissan Altima (158) in 5th. If they were counted on size and not price the BMW 3-Series (354) and Mercedes C Class (647) would have been in 4th and 2nd places.

C Class outsold Falcon, not Commodore.

[naddis01]

It's interesting to see the premium end on the rise and the cheaper end decreasing - including the Chinese with big drops.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/328099/2...rs-and-losers/

2014 car sales: winners and losers

by Mike Costello

Senior Editor


The number of new vehicles sold in Australia in 2014 contracted by 2.0 per cent compared with the record figures of 2013, though sales once again topped the magic million mark.

According to VFACTS figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, 1,113,224 new cars, SUVs and commercials were registered last year, which is 23,000 fewer than in the previous year over the same number of selling days.

Last year also clearly laid out Australians’ ravenous appetite for SUVs, which grew in volume across the board by 5.6 per cent to 352,347 units, or almost one-third of all vehicles sold.

Passenger vehicles — including the light, small, medium, large, sports and people-mover segments across all price points — fell 6.1 per cent to 531,596 sales, while light commercial vehicles dropped 3.2 per cent to 197,956 sales.

Toyota again dominated with 203,501 sales, down 5.2 per cent. Holden was next with 106,092 sales, down 5.3 per cent, while the leading full importer was once again Mazda with 100,704 sales. Hyundai finished a close fourth with a record 100,011, eclipsing the six-figure mark in a milestone.

Rounding out the top 10 were Ford (79,703, down 8.6 per cent), Mitsubishi (68,637, down 4 per cent), Nissan (66,025, down 14 per cent), Volkswagen (54,801, down 0.2 per cent), Subaru (40,502, up 0.8 per cent) and Honda (32,998, down 15.9 per cent).

Big growth was experienced by 11th and 12th on the list, which was a rampant Mercedes-Benz (31,895, up 15.8 per cent) and Jeep (30,408, up 37.2 per cent). Both edged out Kia, which managed 28,005 sales to be down 6 per cent.

Other big winners included luxury brands — a real trend, there — Audi (19,227 sales, up 20.1 per cent) and BMW (22,722, up 10.7 per cent), though Lexus’ growth of 1.2 per cent to 7000 units was more restrained.

Fiat grew 49.4 per cent, Isuzu Ute was up a massive 63.3 per cent, Infiniti jumped 45.1 per cent, albeit off an extremely low base, Land Rover climbed 21 per cent, Porsche sped up by 47.6 per cent, and Renault leapt 42.7 per cent to a record 10,014 units.

Victims were, aside from those mainstream brands already mentioned, Chinese budget brands Chery and Great Wall (down 34.4 per cent and 56.8 per cent), Chrysler (down 38.1 per cent), Suzuki (down 21.1 per cent thanks partially to stock constraints) and Volvo Car (down 9.3 per cent).

On a segment-by-segment basis, the results are as follows. We’ll start with non-premium segments.

Micro cars fell a massive 30.8 per cent, with the Mitsubishi Mirage topping the segment with 41 per cent share despite dropping in volume itself by 32.2 per cent.

Light car sales fell by 4.3 per cent though they did rebound by 7.7 per cent in December. The segment winner was the Hyundai i20 with 14,979 sales, up 6.2 per cent, to edge out the incumbent Mazda 2 (13,424, down 11.5 per cent) and Toyota Yaris (12,779, down 11.5 per cent also).

The small car segment, Australia’s largest with 233,887 sales from its ranks, was won by the Toyota Corolla with 43,735 units, enough to make it Australia’s top-selling car. The Mazda 3 finished second once again with 43,313 sales, ahead of the Hyundai i30/Elantra (31,505/8779), Volkswagen Golf (19,178, up 10.6 per cent) and Holden Cruze (18,554, down 24 per cent).

Medium car sales dropped 14.9 per cent, and 32.4 per cent in December alone. The locally-made Toyota Camry took 22,044 sales alone, enough for 44.5 per cent share of the 49,517 total segment sales, ahead of the Mazda 6 (5883) and Volkswagen Passat (3079).

Sales of large cars fell 9.5 per cent, and 27.1 per cent in December. The Holden Commodore dominated with 30,203 sales for the year, enough for 70.9 per cent segment share, ahead of the Ford Falcon on 6349 (down 40.2 per cent) and Toyota Aurion (5163, down 24.5 per cent).

One small bright spot in the non-premium passenger sales race was in the people-mover class, which grew by 12.9 per cent on the back of the new Honda Odyssey, which overtook the Kia Grand Carnival to win the class with 2552 sales, up a massive 155 per cent.

Sub-$80K sports cars dropped 15.4 per cent to 14,812 units, with the dominant Toyota 86 and Hyundai Veloster taking hits of 36.5 per cent and 13.3 per cent respectively.

As mentioned earlier, this overall down trend was bucked by the luxury end of the market. Small cars above $40K grew 24 per cent (thanks largely to the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Audi A3), medium cars above $60K grew 9.4 per cent, upper large cars above $100K grew 94.4 per cent thanks to the new Mercedes S-Class and Maserati Quattroporte, and sports cars above $80K were up 16.2 per cent.

It’s a similar picture of success in the SUV space. Small SUVs below $40K grew by 16.2 per cent, and above $40K were up by 20.2 per cent. Leading the cheap end was the Hyundai ix35 with 17,922 sales, ahead of the Subaru XV (11,539) and Mitsubishi ASX (10,404), while at the high end the Audi Q3 took about 40 per cent share with 2607 sales ahead of the BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA.

Medium SUV sales were up 4 per cent, with the Mazda CX-5 again winning the class with 21,571 sales to be up 7.2 per cent, ahead of the Toyota RAV4 (18,160), Subaru Forester (13,670) and Nissan X-Trail (10,701).

Medium SUVs above $60K were up 12.5 per cent, with the Audi Q5 (3432) beating the BMW X3 (2842), Range Rover Evoque (2584) and Volvo XC60 (1519).

Large SUVs under $70K dropped 0.8 per cent, though the segment-winning Jeep Grand Cherokee climbed 28.2 per cent to 16,582 sales to oust the Toyota Prado (16,112) and Kluger (11,484). The over $70K class grew by 12.1 per cent, with the BMW X5 (4130) taking the honours.

The light commercial market is dominated by 4×4 utes, the top-seller of which was the Toyota HiLux (27,319, down 6.9 per cent), Ford Ranger (20,674, up 22.2 per cent) and Mitsubishi Triton (19,990, down 2.7 per cent). The other major growth car was the Isuzu D-Max 4×4, up 21.3 per cent to outsell the Mazda BT-50.

The 4×2 ute segment dropped 6.7 per cent, double the rate of the 4×4 class. The HiLux claimed 25.8 per cent share here with 10,807 sales. Once again the Toyota HiAce and Hyundai iLoad dominated van sales with a combined market share in their segment of almost 70 per cent.

Delving in deeper, business fleet sales — a backbone of volume for many car-makers — dipped on all body types by 6.6 per cent, enough to counter small growth in private sales (up 0.5 per cent), government fleet (up 3.4 per cent) and rental (up 2.3 per cent).

Sales of Australian-made cars dropped 15.2 per cent and barely scraped over 100,000 sales in total. Japan remained the most popular source of cars with 329,009 sales, albeit down 9.1 per cent. Next was Thailand (226,936, down 0.7 per cent), South Korea (130,777, down 3.1 per cent) and Germany (83,811, up 10.4 per cent).

Australia’s top 10 best-selling brands for 2014:
1.Toyota — 203,501
2.Holden — 106,092
3.Mazda — 100,704
4.Hyundai — 100,011
5.Ford — 79,703
6.Mitsubishi — 68,637
7.Nissan — 66,025
8.Volkswagen — 54,801
9.Subaru — 40,502
10.Honda — 32,998

(Note: Mercedes-Benz — 31,895; Jeep — 30,408; Kia — 28,005).

Australia’s top 10 best-selling cars for 2014:
1.Toyota Corolla – 43,735
2.Mazda3 – 43,313
3.Toyota HiLux – 38,126
4.Hyundai i30 – 31,505
5.Holden Commodore – 30,203
6.Ford Ranger – 26,619
7.Mitsubishi Triton – 24,256
8.Toyota Camry – 22,044
9.Mazda CX-5 – 21,571
10.Volkswagen Golf – 19,178

[b0son]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

If Ford price the Mustang right it will easily outsell the current Falcon figures.

For a month or two... sure, its a nice looking car, but the coupe market is tiny.

[Mighty Reds]

Originally Posted by tempted

Mustang is going to do nothing for Ford's sales or image as it's only going to be purchased by a small number of enthusiasts.

Rubbish, it will get people into the dealerships for a look.
Which is more than any Ford currently does.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by Mighty Reds

Rubbish, it will get people into the dealerships for a look.
Which is more than any Ford currently does.

What model then get’s people into the Toyota and Mazda and even Hyundai dealership’s then ?.
Mustang will do nothing for increased sales of other Ford product’s.

[kevino]

Originally Posted by Mighty Reds

Rubbish, it will get people into the dealerships for a look.
Which is more than any Ford currently does.

I called into a Ford Springwood dealership on Sunday pm, no staff around but yard is accessible.

There was a constant stream of people coming and going say a dozen.

Something was pulling them in for a look -the FGX I suspect there was 4 or 5 there.

[Wretched]

Unfortunately whilst Mustang may get people into a dealer it is the service and the product that will keep the customer/turn the query into a purchase.
Finding a decent dealer that provides good after purchase service is like finding a needle in a haystack. I personally have gone through 4 - 5 dealers trying to find a decent service department.
We had one years ago, great staff, they left for the next door VW dealership and took many customers with them.

[b0son]

I'd argue that after sales service and quality of the service department is largely irrelevant IF the product is reliable. Based on my experiences and those of others, Ford ownership can be like being part of an elaborate beta testing program, and much of the grief comes from a difference of opinion between owners and dealers as to what is a genuine problem and what is put down to 'they all do that'. It doesn't matter how many bells and whisltes the Mustang might have, many people remember what the Ford ownership experience was like and are unwilling to go through it again.... what they might be prepared to live with it to support the local product may not be the case for the import. I bought a Commodore expecting some niggles given the car's volume and somewhat untested tech (at least locally), but I certainly wouldn't accept those problems in a car produced in far larger volumes in far bigger factories with far better systems.

[russellw]

The Annual Summary of Australian Vehicle Sales has now been uploaded into the Tech portal. It's obviously looking at the Ford perspective but covers a range of other statistics as well.

Cheers
Russ

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by b0son

I'd argue that after sales service and quality of the service department is largely irrelevant IF the product is reliable. Based on my experiences and those of others, Ford ownership can be like being part of an elaborate beta testing program, and much of the grief comes from a difference of opinion between owners and dealers as to what is a genuine problem and what is put down to 'they all do that'. It doesn't matter how many bells and whisltes the Mustang might have, many people remember what the Ford ownership experience was like and are unwilling to go through it again.... what they might be prepared to live with it to support the local product may not be the case for the import. I bought a Commodore expecting some niggles given the car's volume and somewhat untested tech (at least locally), but I certainly wouldn't accept those problems in a car produced in far larger volumes in far bigger factories with far better systems.

Yes and no. I love my Focus, it has been mechanically the best car I have ever owned but obviously it still needs regular maintenance. I am not interested in doing it myself but take it to a dealer (I don't know any other mechanics). The service I get from various ones even just for basic work varies. Attitude in some places is rubbish, i'd hate to think if I had to do a warranty job. Others have been fantastic so it isn't all of them but enough to turn some people away.

[LoudPipes]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Not sure if its truly sunk in yet, but the Mustang will be the only affordable V8 available come 2018. There are atleast 1500 V8 buyers a month in this country, most buy Holdens at the moment.
That demographic isnt suddenly going to buy diesel VWs.

If Ford price the Mustang right it will easily outsell the current Falcon figures.
Over three years ago people laughed at me when I said the upcoming Ranger would outsell the Falcon and be the best selling Ford...

There is always the 300C.

If you are a V8 only buyer who wants a 4 door and you’re willing to take on a 2 door when it’s the only thing available, you may also be willing to live with the looks of a 300C because of its convenience and the fact it’s also no slouch.

Also as said, no one knows what Holden has planned.

Since when has a 2 door car been a volume seller in Australia, the land of the Grand Tourer.

As great as the Mustang may be for its price, it is not suitable for a lot of people and compromise won’t come into it when a family of kids is involved, the Mustang will be push it towards the bottom end of most lists.

I will concede I have no idea what will eventuate and it’s just my opinion which holds no more weight than yours but if I was a betting man my money wouldn’t be on Mustang.

[Mighty Reds]

The Mustang will only be a niche seller at best but it may just get some people onto the showroom floor that wouldn't normally look at a Ford product.
The Ford brand is not "cool" in a lot of peoples eyes, the Mustang at least has that base covered.

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by LoudPipes

Since when has a 2 door car been a volume seller in Australia, the land of the Grand Tourer.

You mean the land of the SUV ?

[MrZ]

Hey Russ, your prediction for Falcon sales this year was way off. Just wondering why you thought that sales would increase by 13% over last year, when the FG was well over 6 years old? What cars generally increase in sales at the end of their life - few that I know of. Also, considering that Holden had the new VF, it was inevitable that Falcon sales would be well down this year compared to last.

[superfly]

Originally Posted by kevino

I called into a Ford Springwood dealership on Sunday pm, no staff around but yard is accessible.

There was a constant stream of people coming and going say a dozen.

Something was pulling them in for a look -the FGX I suspect there was 4 or 5 there.

I did that a few weeks ago at Ford Springwood. It was the first and only time so far to see the FGX in the flesh. I think it looks great although I wish the rear spoiler was raised to the same height as on the FG.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by kevino

I called into a Ford Springwood dealership on Sunday pm, no staff around but yard is accessible.

and there's more than half your problem right there! No staff at the only time many people can get to a dealer.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by naddis01

From Russ' sales stats...
Quote:
Mondeo / Medium Segment
In December, a poor 98 Ford Mondeos were sold

that's really sad. It's not a bad car - far from it, but it's just not selling here.

having said that though it looks like sales have dropped right off in Europe too. Only 1452 in November and only about 42000 for the year. http://left-lane.com/european-car-sa...d/Ford-Mondeo/

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

What model then get’s people into the Toyota and Mazda and even Hyundai dealership’s then ?.
Mustang will do nothing for increased sales of other Ford product’s.

Toyota gets looked because of its reputation for reliability. Hyundai has really improved its image in the last couple of years. Look at there cars now compared to 15 years ago.... A lot of people like them. As for Mazda they also have a good reputation with consumers in Australia.. Ford and Holden DO NOT.
Mustang will favour the V8 enthusiast that at this stage will only have one choice unless GM does something but nothings been confirmed. the fans of coupes and convertibles will love this car. even with the turbo 4. Its not just the V8 buyers that will be interested.

[russellw]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Hey Russ, your prediction for Falcon sales this year was way off. Just wondering why you thought that sales would increase by 13% over last year, when the FG was well over 6 years old? What cars generally increase in sales at the end of their life - few that I know of. Also, considering that Holden had the new VF, it was inevitable that Falcon sales would be well down this year compared to last.

Feel free to write your own predictions if your crystal ball is better than mine.

I expected to see FG-X earlier in the year along with the XR-8 and based my guesstimate on that. But hey, that's the beauty of predictions, they don't have to be right.

Russ

[russellw]

The Supplementary Stats for December are now uploaded to the Tech portal.

I'll try and get the final segment review done shortly.

Cheers
Russ

[FordACE]

Originally Posted by simon varley

and there's more than half your problem right there! No staff at the only time many people can get to a dealer.

whilst your opinion might be true, I only go to dealers on Sunday so that I can look without being hassled.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by wildrider

Toyota gets looked because of its reputation for reliability. Hyundai has really improved its image in the last couple of years. Look at there cars now compared to 15 years ago.... A lot of people like them. As for Mazda they also have a good reputation with consumers in Australia.. Ford and Holden DO NOT.
Mustang will favour the V8 enthusiast that at this stage will only have one choice unless GM does something but nothings been confirmed. the fans of coupes and convertibles will love this car. even with the turbo 4. Its not just the V8 buyers that will be interested.

That wasn’t my point, I was trying to say in response to mighty reds that those manufactures that I mentioned do not need a hero car like the Mustang to make sales and have proven so.

I personally believe that Mustang will not help the sales of other Ford models that should already be going strong considering there spec’s, to me the Ford brand is on the nose in this country and they have a major image concern.

But’s thats just my opinion.

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by FordACE

whilst your opinion might be true, I only go to dealers on Sunday so that I can look without being hassled.

that's actually a good idea!! nothing worse then having a pushy sales person trying to push you into buying something.