Prelim March 2013 sales figures

[XD 351 Ute]

I've read a number of these threads now, and something that I think that has been overlooked, is the fact that the traditional 'Australian Car Buying Public' isn't quite so Australian any more.
With more and more people from around the world living here, one would guess that they would buy the sort of vehicle as they did back home, in the way that most that still buy the Falcon & Commodore have always done.

I honestly think that if these people were able to see the attributes of our home grown cars, they would give them a go.

Ed

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by mr smith

Dumb, because the same people that whinge that jobs are going and quality has long disappeared are the same who buy cheap c$%p from overseas.
Do people actually test drive new cars before they buy?
I get to drive nearly every new model car under $150K and the Aussie made stuff is among the best for our conditions.

For out in the country the locals are probably better suited but for around the town and built up areas there is no need for them. I too get to drive most new cars and work on them and to be honest the Commodore and Falcon are pretty average in terms of quality and reliability.

[EDManual]

Also cars dont have to last 200,000km any more sadly. They are a throw away product (even europeans like BMW's, doesnt matter if its a 7 series either, are throw aways after about 200k). Falcons are much better than that, but no one cares apart from taxi companies.

[Mad_Pom]

Ford

Ford Escape 4 - Run Out? Replaced by Kuga
Ford Falcon 831
Ford Falcon Ute 353
Ford Fiesta 602 - Face lift soon ?
Ford Focus 1,557 - Volume limited ?
Ford Kuga 96 - Waiting for new model in May/June ?
Ford Mondeo 99 - Genk only restarted on 22nd Jan - how long before we have stock?
Ford Ranger 4X2 374
Ford Ranger 4X4 1,311 - Volume limited?
Ford Territory 1,059
Ford Transit 109
Ford Transit Bus 9
Ford Transit Heavy 30

[Mad_Pom]

Originally Posted by XD 351 Ute

I've read a number of these threads now, and something that I think that has been overlooked, is the fact that the traditional 'Australian Car Buying Public' isn't quite so Australian any more.
With more and more people from around the world living here, one would guess that they would buy the sort of vehicle as they did back home, in the way that most that still buy the Falcon & Commodore have always done.

I honestly think that if these people were able to see the attributes of our home grown cars, they would give them a go.

Ed

The whole of the large Car, $70K is less than the Mazda 3 on it's own !!!

There has got to be more to it than country of origin

Mazda3 3,786

Large < $70K

Ford Falcon 831
Holden Commodore 1,606
Honda Accord 288
Hyundai Grandeur 0
Nissan Maxima 103
Peugeot 508 60
Skoda Superb 34
Toyota Aurion 498
Total Large < $70K 3,420

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Mad_Pom

Ford

Ford Escape 4 - Run Out? Replaced by Kuga
Ford Falcon 831
Ford Falcon Ute 353
Ford Fiesta 602 - Face lift soon ?
Ford Focus 1,557 - Volume limited ?
Ford Kuga 96 - Waiting for new model in May/June ?
Ford Mondeo 99 - Genk only restarted on 22nd Jan - how long before we have stock?
Ford Ranger 4X2 374
Ford Ranger 4X4 1,311 - Volume limited?
Ford Territory 1,059
Ford Transit 109
Ford Transit Bus 9
Ford Transit Heavy 30

For the sake of our eyes, I have increased the Font size.....

[jpd80]

If this keeps up, then Broadmeadows will be back on four day weeks..

[Mad_Pom]

Originally Posted by jpd80

For the sake of our eyes, I have increased the Font size.....

Or you could press 'Ctrl +' on your browser ;o)

[JPFS1]

Not too bad for the local Ford product considering possible continued hold up of ecoLpi delivery. Will try and confirm.

[Mad_Pom]

Originally Posted by JPFS1

Not too bad for the local Ford product considering possible continued hold up of ecoLpi delivery. Will try and confirm.

This is not bad ?

Falcon 831
Ute 353
Territory 1,059

Total 2,243

27K annualised

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Mad_Pom

Ford

Ford Escape 4 - Run Out? Replaced by Kuga
Ford Falcon 831
Ford Falcon Ute 353
Ford Fiesta 602 - Face lift soon ?
Ford Focus 1,557 - Volume limited ?
Ford Kuga 96 - Waiting for new model in May/June ?
Ford Mondeo 99 - Genk only restarted on 22nd Jan - how long before we have stock?
Ford Ranger 4X2 374
Ford Ranger 4X4 1,311 - Volume limited?
Ford Territory 1,059
Ford Transit 109
Ford Transit Bus 9
Ford Transit Heavy 30

plenty of good figures there, Focus selling like it should (hopefully increasing), ranger and Territory too.
I'd say a good month for Ford.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Mad_Pom

This is not bad ?

Falcon 831
Ute 353
Territory 1,059

Total 2,243

27K annualised

Well, considering that Ford recently downsized production, I'd say that it is better able to cope
with the situation than Holden who must be devastated at the moment.

(MP, You don't have to font and size every line, just start and finish)

[JPFS1]

I didn't say it was good, that's for sure. What I said was that it's not too bad. Too, not to be overlooked.

There are some technical reasons for the low falcon numbers, circumstances will change and they should get a little better.

Dropping the local product for an import that will struggle to sell half that is probably not the best idea either particularly when you consider the plant/platform really doesn't owe them anything.

[Pepscobra]

Originally Posted by jpd80

If this keeps up, then Broadmeadows will be back on four day weeks..

What are they doing now? 3 or 5 days?
I can't work out if this is a good or bad result for Ford. Sure, Falcon numbers are down, but the combined total looks ok...?

[Mad_Pom]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Well, considering that Ford recently downsized production, I'd say that it is better able to cope
with the situation than Holden who must be devastated at the moment.

(MP, You don't have to font and size every line, just start and finish)

Good Point.

Let's see if they downsize or just offer huge discounts to shift product.
Maybe they are fully engaged producing VF's

[turbodewd]

Originally Posted by XD 351 Ute

I've read a number of these threads now, and something that I think that has been overlooked, is the fact that the traditional 'Australian Car Buying Public' isn't quite so Australian any more.
With more and more people from around the world living here, one would guess that they would buy the sort of vehicle as they did back home, in the way that most that still buy the Falcon & Commodore have always done.

I honestly think that if these people were able to see the attributes of our home grown cars, they would give them a go.

Ed

I wouldnt be so sure on that. When I sold my BA turbo in 09 i had 3 chinese foreign students make me an offer (which I shud have accepted!)

I saw a young fella putting his new number plates on a BF XR6 yesterday, I think he was of islander descent of some sort.

Ive seen Indians driving Falcons other than taxis.

But generally speaking ppl of asian/indian descent drive Camrys as if it were a rule.

(PS my wife is Indian, i can say what I bloody-well want )

[R-Design]

Sorry if this was already posted. I've got a feeling VF wont do much to stop this sales slide, I never thought I'd see this day.

Originally Posted by GoAuto

VFACTS: Commodore drops out of top 10 buys

Reborn Pulsar knocks former Aussie favourite off the bestsellers list

4 April 2013

By BARRY PARK

HOLDEN’S Commodore has fallen off the shortlist of Australia’s top-selling cars for the first time in the brand’s 34-year history, bumped by a reborn small hatchback from Japan.

VFACTS figures released today for the month of March show the months-old Nissan Pulsar narrowly outsold the once-dominant Holden Commodore, forcing the iconic Australian large family car into 11th spot on the charts.

Mazda’s 3 small car remains the darling of the market, selling almost 3800 units in March to cement it in the running as Australia’s favourite car.

Overall, the market tread water last month, selling 97,400 vehicles - 216 fewer than the same month last year.

However, more buyers visited new-car showrooms than in February, with sales volumes bumping by almost five per cent.

But buyers tended to flock to one side of the showroom more than the other, according to data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Passenger car sales fell by almost five per cent in March compared to February, after more buyers instead preferred to wander over and kick the tyres on SUVs, sales of which rose by more than six per cent.

These SUV sales were helped by the introduction of Toyota’s all-new RAV4, which narrowly fell outside the top 10 best sellers for the month, and a blinding month of sales for Mazda’s compact CX-5, with 1830 units delivered.

Overall, the market is five per cent ahead of where it was this time last year, with the FCAI predicting that if momentum continues sales for 2013 are likely hit a record 1.12 million.

Toyota remains the top-selling marque in Australia, capturing a 19 per cent share of the market in March. Mazda, however, has displaced Holden in second place on the leader’s board, snaring a 9.4 per cent share compared with the Lion badge’s 8.5 per cent.

Nissan, Hyundai and Ford have all taken advantage of Mitsubishi’s fall from grace, while Volkswagen and Honda nudged ahead of Subaru to round out the top 10 marques.

Large car sales continued to slide, with Ford’s Falcon losing almost 35 per cent of sales for the month compared with February to peg only 831 units. That means it is now outsold by the likes of Jeep’s Grand Cherokee off-roader, Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class compact luxury car, and the Volkswagen Tiguan soft-roader.

Likewise, Holden’s VE Commodore logged only 1606 sales to end the month, 40 per cent down on the previous month, as buyers hold onto their money ahead of the launch of the radically restyled VF model due in a few months’ time.

Toyota’s Aurion had a good month, lifting sales by more than two thirds to sell 498 cars, but still well short of the volume it was selling at the same time last year.

Other locally made cars had mixed results, with the Toyota Camry falling by 18 per cent to 1916 sales, the Ford Territory falling 20 per cent to 1059 sales, and the Holden Cruze falling 19 per cent for the month to 2335 sales.

Buyers wanted fewer locally made cars, with sales of Australian fare already down 30 per cent compared with the first three months of last year.

The month also saw a shift in the type of buyers, with businesses and government slowing down on the number of passenger car purchases they made.

Only 19 more electric vehicles were added to Australian roads during March, with five of them making their way into private buyers’ driveways. The other 14 were picked up by business and government.

Hybrid cars continued to display signs of a turnaround, jumping by almost 20 per cent for the month compared with March. Tellingly, too, the bulk of interest in hybrid technology came from private buyers.

Top 10 Sellers for March:

Mazda3 3786
Toyota Corolla 3512
Toyota HiLux 3127
Hyundai i30 2595
Nissan Navara 2499
Holdan Cruze 2335
Toyota Camry 1916
Mazda CX-5 1830
Ford Ranger 1685
Nissan Pulsar 1644


VFACTS sales March 2013:

Brand Sales Movement %
Toyota 18,653 1.0
Mazda 9,112 -2.5
Nissan 8,408 1.2
Hyundai 8,402 7.6
Holden 8,283 -18.8
Ford 6,434 -13.7
Mitsubishi 5,147 -14.3
Volkswagen 4,299 -4.1
Subaru 4,219 5.4
Honda 3,897 73.4

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257B42007E4733

[M&Ms]

I guess the question people should be asking is , are Ford Australia making a profit or a loss? Lets not get too hung up on volume of cars sold - IIRC, Ford need to sell 1800 locally produced products a month to break even, after that they are in the black. Holden should be more worried than Ford as they make money on volume selling (different strategy).

What would also be interesting is to see a breakdown on vehicle type sold. Are Ford selling 50% G6ET's??? I'm guessing the more premium models they sell, the higher profit is had per vehicle also.

It's all about the bottom line people - no matter if they sell 100 cars or 10,000 cars, it's the profitability that counts.

[csv8]

Ok..I know this has been said so many times..Why isn't the Falcon being advertised.??????
Ford Australia Facebook page, for Easter had no Falcons !!! only Euro's. !!!!
I guess that says it all. Falcon is gone ,but not officially...sad days....

[eb2fairmont]

I think its simple really. What do you get for your dollar?

You get a lot for 40K these days, but this will only get you a basic commodore /falcon. That's the crux of the matter, the value proposition is lacking.

Go back 10 years, the value proposition favoured the locals due to exchange rate and wages. In between now and then have the commodore and falcon come as far as everything else? In short no.

VF and FH will address this, but they will be only niche products. IN much the same way a territory. Biased towards high spec models.

[dimka100]

Falcon 831
Territory 1059

I don’t even know how you could justify spending any further R&D budget on these two …

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by csv8

Ok..I know this has been said so many times..Why isn't the Falcon being advertised.??????
Ford Australia Facebook page, for Easter had no Falcons !!! only Euro's. !!!!
I guess that says it all. Falcon is gone ,but not officially...sad days....

The reasoning given by Ford is this: the Falcon, and cars like it, are no longer volume sellers because buyers are shunning large sedans in favour of small cars and SUV’s. It is now a niche player that only appeals to buyers looking for certain qualities that large cars offer, and therefore the advertising thrust (and money) is better off directed at the volume selling products in the market segments where people are going for large numbers of certain types of cars. Those volume selling products are also coincidentally in extremely competitive market segments, so Ford has to work hard to maintain it’s share of those competitive segments.

Plus, it's Ford Motor Company of Australia, not Falcon Motor Company of Australia.

[Wretched]

It is now up to Ford and Holden to convince the market why they should be buying Falcon and Commodore over anything else (including other products in their range).

After all it is their product that they are trying to sell, their product they have developed and researched (one hopes) to suit a market. If they are happy selling at the numbers they are currently then who are we to argue?

[Bossxr8]

Ranger is supply limited due to the 6R80 auto. They can't get enough supplies of them to keep Ranger auto production high enough. They need to fix this.

If Falcon and Territory sales aren't doing too well FoA need to be shifting as many Ranger's, Focus's and Mondeo's as they can to keep profit levels up. But they continually get shafted by supply issues that further drive them into the ground.

Its like they get no support to survive and they are fighting with one hand behind their back. It's no wonder the Koreans and Japanese are slaughtering them.

I'd gaurantee that if these supply issues were happening in the US something would be done about it quick smart. But with Australia being the ******** of the world we get zip.

[FPV GTHO]

The US would be producing most of their own stock though, so it would be much easier to rectify.

[eb2fairmont]

And in the meantime other manufacturers who can supply are having a field day. In the meantime customers getting the run around on supply issues would be most likely not going to be repeat customers.

[Bossxr8]

One Ford = We are the only ONE that matters within FORD.

The Yanks need to be more focused on other areas now that they have their own in order. There's no point making billions in the US, when all the other areas bar China are losing money hand over fist.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Wretched

After all it is their product that they are trying to sell, their product they have developed and researched (one hopes) to suit a market. If they are happy selling at the numbers they are currently then who are we to argue?

This could indeed be correct and all the hand-wringing and carry on by enthusiasts and the media is for nothing. FWIW it seems like FoA has more pressing issues at the moment, like obtaining adequate supply of volume selling vehicles for starters.

[jpd80]

Ecosport is still a year off....

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

This could indeed be correct and all the hand-wringing and carry on by enthusiasts and the media is for nothing. FWIW it seems like FoA has more pressing issues at the moment, like obtaining adequate supply of volume selling vehicles for starters.

Suppliers, it saddens me to hear ongoing problems with EcoLPI, at some point industry and fleets are just going to give up and go elsewhere...
It's like watching a very polite person dying who doesn't want to say anything or upset anyone....