[Cluster2]

Following up the i30's top selling status in March, the i30 is again Australia's top selling vehicle in April.

Car sales bounce back in April

4140 sales versus its competitors like Toyota Corolla with 2960, Golf at 1810, with Mazda 3 not even in the top 10.  Although to be fair the Mazda 3 is generally not purchased by fleet buyers such as rental companies.

I'm glad to say my i30 diesel contributed to that 4140 amount last month.

[Dazzler]

Thanks for that!

Wow! That's with bu**er all Tourers in the mix too... Scarce as hen's teeth new. They don't seem to be bringing the euro built cars in at the moment.

[Surferdude]

 Just one small correction.  Unless I'm reading it wrongly,  the Mazda 3 hasn't dropped out of the top 10. The list in the link has it at #5.

[Cluster2]

Yep, my mistake.  Wasn't looking closely enough.

[beerman]

With auto hatches priced at $19,990 and the tax year coming to an end, I would expect this dominance to continue.

Lots of small businesses that saw the extension of the 20k instant write off and a tax cut will be looking for new wheels....

Clever marketing...

As an aside, Surferdude, I had nearly forgotten the One.tel mascot.....

[pidim]

They sell a lot cars with the $19,990 deal with free auto but I think HY needs to be careful that they don't undo all the hard work over the years to change consumer perceptions of "Korean" cars having to be cheap to sell against Japansese cars. It will be interesting to see if Mazda and Toyota can live with selling under 3000 per month or decide to join the party.

[beerman]

What happens to their 'other' brand Kia.

I would have thought 19,990 and free auto would be the Kia offering, Hyundai perhaps at 21,990.

OK just looked you can get an auto MY16 Cerato for $17,690. There are also 2015 models still avaliable. They are listed around the same money, but I reckon you could twist their arm a bit....

[Dazzler]

What happens to their 'other' brand Kia.

I would have thought 19,990 and free auto would be the Kia offering, Hyundai perhaps at 21,990.

OK just looked you can get an auto MY16 Cerato for $17,690. There are also 2015 models still avaliable. They are listed around the same money, but I reckon you could twist their arm a bit....

Makes them good value. Nothing wrong with the Cerato.

[beerman]

With the 7 year warranty they are a winner in my book. All the same running gear as the i30.

They are still running the old school radio and no reverse camera which the kiddies today seem to like, but they do have sensors front/rear.

But they will be here soon....

2016 Kia Cerato facelift revealed in Korean ?K3? form

[Cluster2]

When I was looking at the Cerato and i30 last month, the i30 was $20k with auto drive away and Cerato the $19k with auto.  I didn't drive the Cerato as for me the i30 was clearly worth the extra $1k in asking price.  The interior is much nicer and more modern, which isn't completely surprising as KIA is the junior car maker with the older model.  I ended up buying a diesel anyway which KIA does not provide.

As to whether Hyundai is doing long term damage by racking up sales through being cheaper, well, that may be a concern.  They don't want to over stuff the fleet market with sales and then suffer reduced resale value when those cars are dumped onto the second hand market.  I think the GD4 i30 is good enough by itself however to stand out as a quality option for buyers and not just attract buyers because it's cheap.  That's what KIA is for.

[beerman]

It is a shame Kia don't do a diesel.

I would be well tempted, especally with that 7 year warranty which will be more than useful on the second hand market, I dare say punters will be looking seriously at a 5 year old Kia with 2 years factory warranty.....