[rustynutz]

New car sales slumped to their lowest level in two years in April as the market continued its 2014 decline.

Australians purchased just 80,710 new vehicles last month, the poorest result since April 2012 when 79,097 were sold. The result was 5.2 per cent off the pace of the same month last year, marking four straight months of reduced sales compared with their 2013 equivalents.

Light-commercial and passenger vehicle sales are down 9.3 and 3.1 per cent respectively this year, with the 4×4 ute (-13.3 per cent), micro (-25.2 per cent) and small (-14.9 per cent) segments falling the furthest.

The SUV category is the only one to show growth, up 0.8 per cent year on year, though it’s been buoyed entirely by the small SUV segment (+13.2 per cent), with the medium, large and upper large segments all down compared with 2013.

Read more: Car sales April 2014 : winners and losers | CarAdvice

[Dazzler]

Thanks Rusty (interesting as usual)

Top 10 Best-selling Vehicles – April 2014

Toyota Corolla – 3315
Mazda 3 – 3057
Toyota HiLux – 2574
Holden Commodore – 2443
Hyundai i30 – 2271
Ford Ranger – 2094
Toyota Prado – 1622
Toyota RAV4 – 1548
Mazda CX-5 – 1543
Holden Cruze – 1468

Top 10 Best-selling Vehicles – 2014

Mazda 3 – 15,174
Toyota Corolla – 13,647
Toyota HiLux – 11,571
Holden Commodore – 10,551
Hyundai i30 – 9896
Ford Ranger – 7912
Mazda CX-5 – 7080
Toyota RAV4 – 6454
Toyota Camry – 6218
Ford Focus – 6091

Top 10 Best-selling Brands – April 2014

Toyota – 14,930
Holden – 8010
Hyundai – 7626
Mazda – 7000
Ford – 6449
Mitsubishi – 4360
Nissan – 4157
Volkswagen – 4019
Subaru – 2903
Honda – 2352

Top 10 Best-selling Brands – 2014

Toyota – 63,051
Holden – 35,429
Mazda – 34,785
Hyundai – 31,186
Ford – 26,577
Nissan – 18,882
Mitsubishi – 18,615
Volkswagen – 17,056
Subaru – 12,887
Honda – 9789

[druggist]

I bet we are number 2 to Toyota by year's end.

Holden sales will fall as they wind up manufacture here and their Daewoo replacements aren't up to Hyundai/Kia quality.

[Dazzler]

 

[rustynutz]

I laugh when people say no-one wants a big car these days.... 

Commodore being in front of i30 says they do... 

[John B]

I laugh when people say no-one wants a big car these days.... 

Commodore being in front of i30 says they do... 

Yes I agree but I think it's the sales people that mostly say that when you trade them in , that's the story I got when I traded my  Falcon in.

[beerman]

If you look at the I30 in isolation perhaps. If you look at the I30 plus the Corolla and 3 and Cruze, it starts to look a little different.

As an aside, the Ford Ranger is getting very close to knocking off the Hilux.....

[rustynutz]

If that's the case, look at the Commode with the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Prado, I wouldn't call any of them small.... 

[Lakes]

The Ford Ranger & Hilux are work horses. what commo are they talking about as you have a sedan a wagon & a work ute all in there & thats why they show high sales. if Hy made a i30 ute or SUV Variation you would see sales numbers change. is there anyway to see how many comma ute's are in there & how manu sedans & wagons?

[Dazzler]

If that's the case, look at the Commode with the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Prado, I wouldn't call any of them small.... 

Jeepers, you are clutching at straws now Rusty.. 

@ Lakes (I don't think it gets broken down that fine on the net John...

There are various places where sales figures are recorded .. here are links to a couple

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/9314.0

VFACTS Sales Reports : FCAI

[rustynutz]

The Ford Ranger & Hilux are work horses.

They might be work horses but plenty of ordinary people are buying them for their every day drive, John... 

Jeepers, you are clutching at straws now Rusty.. 

What straws? Simply showing that people ARE still buying plenty of large vehicles, Daz.... 

I'm not denying that more smaller cars are being sold...

[Surferdude]

^
Plenty???????


I am sure the Vommode figures are an abberation, boosted by a significant number taking what they see as their last opportunity to buy an Aussie car.
I know a few who have taken the decision to put off going with a Mazda 6 or Camry until their next purchase and gone with Vommodes - one even bought a Ford.

[beerman]

The Ford Ranger & Hilux are work horses.

They might be work horses but plenty of ordinary people are buying them for their every day drive, John... 

Jeepers, you are clutching at straws now Rusty.. 

What straws? Simply showing that people ARE still buying plenty of large vehicles, Daz.... 

I'm not denying that more smaller cars are being sold...

They might be buying traditional passenger vehicles, but not as many. Not good at trade in time. Especially if you have one with a boot....

Seems fairly clear to me....


There was a time when the Commodore would have been number 1 by a long way, with the Falcon and Camry fighting for the places...

[rustynutz]

^
Plenty???????


I am sure the Vommode figures are an abberation, boosted by a significant number taking what they see as their last opportunity to buy an Aussie car.
I know a few who have taken the decision to put off going with a Mazda 6 or Camry until their next purchase and gone with Vommodes - one even bought a Ford.

That may add a few, but did we see a similar thing with Ford? 

While I certainly acknowledge that sales have slumped dramatically over the years, the facts remain, Commodores still outsell many other smaller cars and this was the case even before the Holden announcement that they would close up shop.

Sales figures show that plenty of people buy large vehicles, witness the top ten sales figures...They may not all be the traditional passenger vehicle such as the Commodore/Falcon but they are still large....

[Surferdude]

Ford, as much as it might have liked to play itself up, has never held the same position in the Australian motoring psyche.
Motor racing supporters? yes.
But the general public has always seen Holden as Australia's car and Ford as the interloper.
So, I didn't expect to see the same thing with Ford - at least to the same level.

Anyway, it's a moot point.
Two years or so and all gone.

[Doggie 1]

I hate that we have adopted the term "SUV."
It has absolutely no meaning in Australia. 

[The Gonz]

Is that all? Take note of advertising on TV, radio and signage and see how often the official Australian date format of day/month/year is respected.

[rustynutz]

I hate that we have adopted the term "SUV."
It has absolutely no meaning in Australia. 

You need to move with the times, Dave....

[Doggie 1]

I hate that we have adopted the term "SUV."
It has absolutely no meaning in Australia. 

You need to move with the times, Dave....

No, you mean move with the Americans. 

[CraigB]

I hate that we have adopted the term "SUV."
It has absolutely no meaning in Australia. 

No meaning what would be your suggested name/hyphenation 

[Doggie 1]

I hate that we have adopted the term "SUV."
It has absolutely no meaning in Australia. 

No meaning what would be your suggested name/hyphenation 

People mover or four wheel drive, depending on the vehicle.
Sports Utility Vehicle means nothing as far as Australian motoring history is concerned.

[The Gonz]

I've always liked 'Toorak Tractor'.

[CraigB]

I hate that we have adopted the term "SUV."
It has absolutely no meaning in Australia. 

No meaning what would be your suggested name/hyphenation 

People mover or four wheel drive, depending on the vehicle.
Sports Utility Vehicle means nothing as far as Australian motoring history is concerned.

Actually SUV stands for "Suburban Utility Vehicle" as far as Australian motoring is concerned well that is on it's way out since costs to build cars in Australia are to expensive and 90% of our cars come from overseas anyway.

I've always liked 'Toorak Tractor'.

That's certainly a fresh name un-used by any other company

[Doggie 1]

What is SUV?
   
SUV is "Sport Utility Vehicle"
 
SUV Definition / SUV Means
The definition of SUV is "Sport Utility Vehicle"
 
The Meaning of SUV
SUV means "Sport Utility Vehicle"
 
So now you know - SUV means "Sport Utility Vehicle" - don't thank us. YW!

Other Answers (3)
Rated Highest

    J.P answered 6 years ago
    sports, utlility, vehicle
        1
        Comment
    spazzo_1493 answered 6 years ago
    Sports Utility Vehicle
        1
        Comment

Always been Sports Utility Vehicle here.
I still don't like it as it doesn't relate to anything here.
I do like Toorak Tractor. That gets used over here too.

[CraigB]

What is SUV?
   
SUV is "Sport Utility Vehicle"
 
SUV Definition / SUV Means
The definition of SUV is "Sport Utility Vehicle"
 
The Meaning of SUV
SUV means "Sport Utility Vehicle"
 
So now you know - SUV means "Sport Utility Vehicle" - don't thank us. YW!

Other Answers (3)
Rated Highest

    J.P answered 6 years ago
    sports, utlility, vehicle
        1
        Comment
    spazzo_1493 answered 6 years ago
    Sports Utility Vehicle
        1
        Comment

Always been Sports Utility Vehicle here.
I still don't like it as it doesn't relate to anything here.
I do like Toorak Tractor. That gets used over here too.

I stand corrected Suburban Utility Vehicle appears to be used by one American company I viewed and the rest of the site use the standard terminology.

I agree that Sports Utility Vehicle doesn't seem right, especially when most of the cars classified under SUV are not sports cars

I still don't know what would be a better term though, 4x4 is typically known/used in reference to capable off road vehicles such as Toyota Landcruiser - Nissan Patrol, Jeeps, even the Suzuki's.

All wheel drives don't match either as some of the SUV's aren't all wheel drives, "People mover" to me means something more like a Tarago so I guess the car companies might have been in the same dilemma we find ourselves in here and now where it seemed better to just leave it as SUV

[rustynutz]

I do like Toorak Tractor. That gets used over here too.

Do you have a "Toorak" in WA? 

[Doggie 1]

I do like Toorak Tractor. That gets used over here too.

Do you have a "Toorak" in WA? 

No, but we know where it is is.
Dalkeith Datsun might be more apt.

[rustynutz]

Dalkeith Dozer, maybe? 

[The Gonz]

Of course, to really express our dismay, we can revive the old 'Yank Tank'.