Australia new vehicle sales surge to record in June

Australian new vehicle sales jumped to a record in June, a second straight month of bumper results that augured well for consumer demand across the economy.

The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ VFACTS report out on Wednesday showed 134,171 new vehicles were sold in June, up 4.4 percent on the same month last year. Both months had the same number of selling days.

June is typically a strong month as dealers clear stock for the end of the financial year.

Sales of sports utilities alone surged 11.7 percent in June, with the upper large segment rising almost 21 percent. Sales of light commercial vehicles climbed 12.2 percent while the heavy vehicle market gained 9.2 percent.

The willingness to splash out on big-ticket items follows upbeat reports on retail sales for both April and May and points to a likely rebound in consumption for the second quarter after a muted start to the year.

Toyota Motor Corp retained first place on the sales ladder with 18.3 percent of the market, while Mazda Motor Corp had another strong month taking 9.3 percent.

Hyundai Motor took third spot with an improved share of 9.1 percent. The Holden unit of General Motors tied with Mitsubishi on 6.9 percent, while Ford trailed with 6.6 percent.