Australia new vehicle sales edge higher in March

Australian new vehicle sales bounced modestly in March as the timing of the Easter holidays resulted in more selling days compared to the same month last year.

The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ VFACTS report out on Thursday showed 105,410 new vehicles were sold in March, up 0.9 percent on the same month last year.

March this year had two more selling day than in 2016.

For three months to March, sales were running 0.8 percent behind the same period last year.

Sales of SUVs continued their domination with a rise of 7.9 percent on March last year, giving them 39.4 percent of the entire market. Sales of passenger vehicles dropped 10.7 percent, extending their long decline.

Sales of light commercial vehicles jumped 11.3 percent, while sales in the heavy vehicle market rose 11.0 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp retained first place on the sales ladder with 18.6 percent of the market. Mazda Motor Corp had another strong month taking 9.9 percent.

Hyundai Motor took third spot with 8.3 percent, ahead of Mitsubishi on 7.3 percent. The Holden unit of General Motors took 6.8 percent and Ford held 6.5 percent.