Car sales July 2012: winners and losers

By Tim Beissmann
August 03rd, 2012

FIND DEALS

The Toyota HiLux is on the verge of overtaking the Mazda3 to become the top-selling vehicle in Australia, while July proved another horrid month for the Ford Falcon.

The HiLux topped the national sales charts for the fourth consecutive month in July, beating the second-placed Mazda3 by 808 units (4163 versus 3355).

The HiLux now trails the compact Mazda by just 202 sales, and at this rate, with five months of the year to go, looks certain to overtake it before the end of 2012.

While the battle at the top intensifies, the Falcon continues to lose ground on the market leaders. The large family car endured its second worst sales month in history in July, plummeting to just 941 units. The result was only 10 sales clear of the 52-year-old nameplate’s worst ever result, which came in January this year.

There was no such pain for the Falcon’s traditional rival, the Holden Commodore, however, which enjoyed one of its strongest months for the year and outsold its production-line partner, the Cruze small car, by 524 units (2399 versus 1875).

The Toyota Corolla strengthened its ranking as the third most popular car in the country with another 2985 sales last month, while its stable mates, the Camry (1775) and the Yaris (1518), joined it in the top 10 in July.

Toyota now has five of the top 10 best selling cars in Australia so far this year, with the Prado sneaking into 10^th position ahead of the Mitsubishi Triton and the Mazda2.

Toyota dominated monthly sales last month, with 17,780 vehicles delivered across the country. After slipping behind Hyundai in June, Mazda (7951) slotted back into third place overall behind Holden (8936), while Hyundai (7607) and Ford (6903) rounded out the top five. Nissan (6155) continues to make ground on the leaders, while Volkswagen (3964) jumped ahead of Mitsubishi (3428) into seventh.

The Yaris won a tight battle over the Hyundai i20 (1382) and the Mazda2 (1272) in the city-car class, while the Holden Barina (973), Ford Fiesta (944) and the Suzuki Swift (917) also enjoyed a strong month.

The Ford Focus (1092) was the next best small car after those in the top 10, followed by the Mitsubishi Lancer (999) and the Honda Civic (917).

A quiet month in the medium-car segment saw the BMW 3 Series (582) slot into second behind the Camry, with some other unlikely European suspects completing the top five: Volkswagen Passat (581), Ford Mondeo (470) and Mercedes-Benz C-Class (464).

The Toyota Aurion (536) was the only significant player besides Commodore and Falcon in the large-car class. The low-volume Peugeot 508 and the Skoda Superb are the only large cars not to lose ground so far this year in a segment that continues to decline.

The Nissan Dualis (1183) led the way in the small SUV segment ahead of the Hyundai ix35 (942) and the Subaru XV (768).

The Mazda CX-5 (1483) was once again the best-selling SUV in the country, and topped the Nissan X-Trail (1074) and the Toyota RAV4 (1061) in the medium SUV class.

Toyota controlled the large SUV segment, with the Prado (1415) and the Kluger (1114) holding off the Australian-made Ford Territory (1084).

The HiLux (1119) outpaced the Holden Commodore ute (622) and the Ranger (438) in the 4×2 pick-up/cab-chassis segment, and also dominated the 4×4 class, with 3044 sales easily accounting for the Navara (1979), Ranger (1250) and the Holden Colorado (1159).

Sales across the industry totalled 86,641 in July – up 7.0 per cent compared with the same month in 2011. Year-to-date sales stand at 634,495, which is 9.9 per cent up on last year and keeps the Australian automotive industry on track to break the all-time record for full-year sales.

Top 10 Best-selling Vehicles – July 2012

Toyota HiLux – 4163
Mazda3 – 3355
Toyota Corolla – 2985
Holden Commodore – 2399
Nissan Navara – 2164
Hyundai i30 – 2045
Holden Cruze – 1875
Toyota Camry – 1775
Ford Ranger – 1688
Toyota Yaris – 1518

Top 10 Best-selling Vehicles – 2012 to date

Mazda3 – 25,168
Toyota HiLux – 24,966
Toyota Corolla – 22,011
Holden Cruze – 18,312
Holden Commodore – 18,259
Hyundai i30 – 16,045
Nissan Navara – 15,895
Toyota Camry – 12,723
Toyota Yaris – 11,354
Toyota Prado – 10,735

Top 10 Best-selling Brands – July 2012

Toyota – 17,780
Holden – 8936
Mazda – 7951
Hyundai – 7607
Ford – 6903
Nissan – 6155
Volkswagen – 3964
Mitsubishi – 3428
Subaru – 3023
Honda – 2869

Top 10 Best-selling Brands – 2012 to date

Toyota – 123,815
Holden – 65,119
Mazda – 60,084
Hyundai – 52,913
Ford – 50,333
Nissan – 46,034
Mitsubishi – 34,567
Volkswagen – 30,930
Subaru – 24,364
Honda – 19,022

Top 10 Car Brands for Growth – July 2012

Lotus +200.0 per cent
Jeep +132.5 per cent
Chrysler +94.1 per cent
Great Wall +49.8 per cent
Skoda +43.9 per cent
Jaguar +43.2 per cent
Toyota +37.0 per cent
Isuzu Ute +36.5 per cent
Kia +25.3 per cent
Audi +23.9 per cent

Bottom 10 Car Brands for Growth – July 2012

Lamborghini –100.0 per cent
Saab –92.9 per cent
Chery –61.5 per cent
Aston Martin –40.0 per cent
Ferrari –35.7 per cent
Alfa Romeo –32.2 per cent
Mitsubishi –31.1 per cent
Fiat –30.8 per cent
Proton –28.8 per cent
Smart –25.0 per cent

Sponsored Ads

Doctor

Saab down 92.9% – does this mean that 1 was sold in July and 14 last July?
- Kampfer
  
  Lamborghini down 100%, no one bought a Lamborghini last month.
  - gfys
    
    2 people brought a Lotus
Rd

Local car industry dead!!!
We all know about the demise of the Falcon
and the Commodore but a bigger worry for Holden is the crash in sales
of the Cruze. No coming back from here, just a steady decline until
plant closures in 2014 (Ford) and 2016 (Holden).
- Sarge
  
  Holden will do well, if they make the Commodore good, the US export contract may save it, It may end up selling in a month or two in America, more than it sell in Australia in an year. Ford may have something on it’s hands if they merge the Taurus and the Falcon.
PIZZA

Falcon plummeting to just 941 units…gezz…..looks like the factory only need to work 3 days every month then can fullfill their monthly orders….
- Kampfer
  
  There’re 1084 sales on Territory as well. If Ford smart enough to build Focus here instead of ecoboost Falcon it’ll sell quiet a few more local made car, Falcon ute don’t make it into the list? How many did they sell?
  Still no match of Holden. Shame as I think Falcon better than Commodore
  - twincharger
    
    Kampfer the Focus produced locally would increase volume.But the profit margin on small cars is small,Ford would be in bigger trouble that they are now.
    - twincharger
      
      then they are now
      - Comfortably Numb
        
        than* they are now!
    - Kampfer
      
      Holden Cruze not doing too bad, but as someone mention below. Ranger would be great car to build locally.
    - Kampfer
      
      No sure how many Eco-Boost Falcon they are selling atm, no many I guess. If they can sell 5x more Focus than Eco-Boost I’d think they make more profit. If Ford locally make sedan, hatch and specially the wagon, very do-able.
      Also most Falcon were sold to fleet at heavily discounted price. Notice Eco-Boost only on XT and G6, not XR6 and G6E? Look like Ford is targeting Eco-Boost to fleet. I don’t think margin are that much different compare to Focus will little discount.
      - matt
        
        huh they do have it in the g6e? and no you are wrong on the focus = profit… lol… focus = a hell of a lot more expensive aussie made steel needed to be purchased… unionised staff to pay and no doubt extra tax because of the extra output…. focus argument is done and dusted get over it
      - Kampfer
        
        You are right, Eco-Boost is in G6E as well… I seen the Eco-Boost G6 Limited Edition not long ago. I’d pick the G6 LE over Honda Euro with the only worry been the resale….
        
        I don’t know the background of why they cancel the Focus here. So union got something to do with it?
  - Gibbut
    
    ford DONT want to make cars here. They want to kill the falcon so taurus can come and fill its shoes.
    
    if people actually knew the ecoboost existed, it would sell better than any focus.
- Guest
  
  Tax payer’s monies keep the factory open till 2014, mate.
Markus871

How are so many Hyundai i20′s being sold. I have not seen on on the road for ages
- Kampfer
  
  Rental cars replacing Getz. Hyundai much giving them good deals.
  - bd
    
    If they were rentals – wouldn’t you be seeing them on the streets?
    - Kampfer
      
      I see lot of them in Rental offices’ car park. Two of my friends rented one when they had their car repair in last 6 months.
      - Nasal Explorer
        
        I was just in Port Douglas this weekend. The place was literally crawling with rental Elantra’s, i30′s and i20′s. Quite a few Nissan Micra’s as well.
      - bd
        
        I can see the i20, but not the new i30, not when Toyota has been dumping Corollas into fleet for cheap.
- Guest
  
  Seniors & retirees buying them for twice weekly trips to Woolies or Coles to buy groceries or for occasion trip to the bowling green or Bingo hall. Mostly park at home.
Turbodewd

1. Falcon sales are only relatively disappointing compared to its former glory. Outright it still competes well vs Aurion, Maxima, Liberty and Mazda6 – beats them all in sales.

2. Go the Ford Ranger! Arguably the best lookin pickup goin around. Hilux and Amarok also look decent. But the rest are yucko – BT50, Triton, Navara, Colorado.
- Mark Kevin
  
  Yes, but the haters will ignore that, because you’re trying to talk up the Falcon. And I have to laugh at the bias in the article Ford v Holden where the writer says “…There was no such pain for the Falcon’s traditional rival, the Holden Commodore, however, which enjoyed one of its strongest months for the year…” but conveniently omitted the fact that it’s July 2012 numbers are down 30% for the same time last year.
  - Kampfer
    
    At least Holden keep fighting to get the Commodore oversea.
    
    Falcon is screaming to be export. If Ford can get XR6t and G6E to the state and keep it around US$35k-$40k I think they’ll have a winner. Sadly deep in my heart I know Falcon will get replace by Mondeo in a few years…
    - Sydlocal
      
      To sell well in the US an XR6t would have to be more like US$25-$30k rather than US$35k-$40k considering a Camaro kicks off at around US$23k. As an example for around US$40k you can get cars like a Lexus IS350/BMW 335i.
    - Gibbut
      
      at least people realise the commodore exists.
- Kampfer
  
  1. There’s little comfort for Ford on this fact – Falcon only sell in Australia, all other mentioned models are selling worldwide. Toyota export ~75% of local made Camry/Aurion oversea.
  2. I think Ford over priced the Ranger.
  - Turbodewd
    
    Not so. The Ranger is priced that way since its superior and new. As the product ages the price will drop. Its rational business practise.
- DanielD
  
  Falcon is in the large car class. Liberty and Mazda 6 are medium cars. Might as well add Ford Mondeo and Camry to your list if you are including cars classed as medium sized. Camry/Aurion clobbers Falcon on that criteria.
- AMG63
  
  As DanielD is suggesting, the writing is on the wall when you begin to compare it success against medium class vehicles. BTW – not a ford hater, though i reckon that ridiculous cat fish looking fron end ruined an other wise unoffensive shape. Smells like 380 to me.
- JooberJCW
  
  Aurion, Maxima, Liberty and Mazda6 if only sold that amount in Australia globally as well, those brands will put them on the chopping block immediately.
coolbeans

What happened to Mitsubishi? They almost got bundled out of the top ten. Seems those annoying ads can’t save the product.
- Gan Tan
  
  Who cares! What happened to Mahindra? Where are they?
- Guest
  
  Only good car in Mitsubishi range is the Evolution X but even that model is not as good as it’s predecessors. ” Whale shark mouth ” front styling isn’t everyone’s cup of tea especially for the Outlander & ASX. Lancer is the only model to look good with it especially with the RalliArt Front. Colt is around for ages but it doesn’t sell well even with Hero car, the Ralliart Colt. Mitsu needs a good light car to combine with the Lancer to have traction on volumes. The new Mirage, I’m afraid, will not cut it – styling too similar to Nissan Micra & the Micra doesn ‘t sell that well
Grantj

A country flat as a tac and generally dry as a bone and all the w kers want is a guzzling $wd
- Turbodewd
  
  Fringe Benefits Tax is a prime driver here. If you drive your pickup or ute almost exclusively to and from your workplace you can take out a lease FBT free! Its amazing. I might even buy a Ranger myself.
  
  Dont blame the w*nkers for trying to save a buck.
- Turbodewd
  
  Fringe Benefits Tax is a prime driver here. If you drive your pickup or ute almost exclusively to and from your workplace you can take out a lease FBT free! Its amazing. I might even buy a Ranger myself.
  
  Dont blame the w*nkers for trying to save a buck.
BP

Before you suggest the local automotive industry is dead, you’re forgetting one thing… VF Commodore!
Donkey Kong

Ford Australia is not healthy – not even in the slightest. Yet … soooo many people barked Toyota Aust will be next to go and smirked about it … mmmm !

THEY WERE WRONG …. VERY, VERY WRONG !

Now i smirk … he, he, he !
Rd

The VF is just another facelift. From the side profile 90% of population won’t even notice the change.
VF will be just a new front and rear (lights), 30kg lighter (still bloody heavy), semi new dash and a few teeks. No one will crave a 8 year old car with a drinking problem.
- DanielD
  
  If its got a really good drinking problem, like a 6.2 litre supercharged kind of drinking problem, I’ll buy one! Hick!
F1

BMW 3 series outsold Aurion?

I see billions upon billions of Aurions on the roads of Sydney..

But I must admit, they really f**cked up the design with the new one
- AMG63
  
  I’d have to agree. Saw a black “sporty” one the other day and could not recognise what the hell it was supposed to be till I got closer. Honestly what were they thinking with all the crap hanging off the back of it. Its truely hideous!
Bigbird

Everyone knows by now what’s going on with the Falcon and, what was meant to happen even when the FG was released. Why Ford OZ aren’t at least advertising the product they have, being that they have until 2016 is beyond everyone. Has any of the motoring media asked Ford, what the?…… If so did Ford respond? The FG is still basically running on the AU chassis. Good thing about that is, the AU chassis is brilliant. Bad thing is for buyers, it’s perceived as too old. Jump in an FG, even a bog stock Falcon and it goes and feels better than a Commodore. Perception is a funny thing. Then again. Advertising and information to the public goes a long way too. It’s disappointing but, brand preference aside. Ford are doing it to themselves.
- Robin_Graves
  
  The problem is that people believe the propaganda and believe Falcons are heavy, thirsty, boring to drive. Fact is they use much less fuel than the average ‘SUV’ while going a hell of a lot better. It’s all about fashion these days and a Falcon is not fashionable. They handle extremely well for a large car and are comfortable all at the same time, not an easy feat. Try that with an ‘SUV’
  - Legnab
    
    Dream on grave robber its on the slippery slope to oblivion , you dont get it do you , too fat , too heavy , no hatch , boring interior , old tech ,no economy, rep/taxi/bogan image , no longer on the wish list .
    - Robin_Graves
      
      Prime example right here. Never even driven an FG yet still regurgitates out the same bogus descriptors.
  - twincharger
    
    Robin i have a Hoover dishwasher at home,30 years old still running well.We all know why Hoover closed down.There products lasted for ever and you just never had to buy replacment Hoovers.
    Falcon in the same book,they just drive and last forever.I know people driving EL,AU,BA,EF thinking of an FG when ther car dies,but they dont.
    Lets give Volkswagen credit.They last only 5 years before falling to bits when you buy a new one.
    - Legnab
      
      You guys living in the rainbow room , hoover were rubbish , hence their gone , same story with the falcoon , they forgot to move with the times .
      
      Face it no one wants to drive a commercial vehicle , its about personalised niche cars .
      
      My first golf circa 2001 is still going strong with 140k plus , my nephew loves it , still got its original turbo .
      - Garrywhopper
        
        Do you hand down all your cars, what a lovely south australian snowtown family. In South Australia I was born, heave away hove away, in south australia round the horn, bound for south Australia
      - twincharger
        
        Your rolf circa has been crushed and used for land fill.Falcon times allmost up,nothing to do with the car other factors have lead to the demise.
        Veedud making the polio in China,next the rolf.Soon all Vw”s made in China..
      - Legnab
        
        TWINBANGER the chinese factory is just for their consumption as they cannot keep up with demand , state of the art factory unlike the old foreign owned ford and GM factories here .
      - Garrywhopper
        
        My faulty golf was bad enough, nevermind some iphoone4 knockoff, i enjoyed the golfs tight finish an interior until the major engine and transmission failures
      - http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass
        
        140k is nothing. My Commodore has got double that and needed it’s first (and only) mechanical repair at 240k (water pump).
      - Jober As A Sudge
        
        What is the reliability of the current Golf like? Also is the problem of engines destroying themselves limited to the Mk5 twincharger Golfs?
    - Phil
      
      What a load of nonsense. If people kept Falcoones untill they died, then why then are there thousands upon thousands of used Falcoones for sale at any given time and still in running order?
      The answer is the original owners want to get rid of them – and judging by the low prices Falcoone owners are willing to accept, they’re quite desperate to get rid of them!
      - twincharger
        
        Wait to you try and sell your 2nd hand handgrenade veedud phildo.By that stage a made in China Vw for Australia will be available.
        Yourself and legnoddy dont listen just stick your fingers in your ears lalalalalalala.VF Commodore will have a turbo engine and be 300kg lighter than the VE.
      - Legnab
        
        Can’t you create your own lines , just copy the grave robbers tales , VF is just a face lift with new ice cream container dash palstics , too little too late , would need to be 300kg lighter as it is vastly overweight , maybe a 100kg not 300kg .
      - Phil
        
        So your explanation for the thousands of Falcoone owners trying to sell is……
        - that I own a VW (which I never have)
        - A made in China VW is coming to Australia
        - VF Crummer is coming with turbo and lightness
        ….yes that explains why so many people are trying to get rid of their Falcoones……..
        
        Once again, if the people who buy Falcoones were keeping them untill they die, there would not be thousands of them up for sale on the used car market.
        Try explaining that before meandering off on some weird, unrelated storytale or better yet; admit you were wrong.
      - Garrywhoppet
        
        I was honest with my vw’s history when selling and even though still under warranty I got half of what I paid for it after 12 months because of the defects. Beware
      - Kampfer
        
        Most of the Falcon sold are to fleet. They replace their car every 3-4 years. that’s why thousands of them out in the used market at all time. They are selling cheap because they bought them damn cheap to begin with.
      - twincharger
        
        You cant argue with Phildo and Legnoodle Kampfer.There totally biased in there views..
      - Phil
        
        @twincharger……..what bias?
        
        Care to explain why there are thousands of Falcoone owners trying to sell their Falcoones that are less than 10 years old?
        
        Your story about all Falcoone owners keeping them untill they die is clearly false. Obviously the fleet purchasers don’t keep them untill they die and judging by the number of Falcoones for sale that are between 3 and 10 years old, there are heaps of private owners trying to flog off their Falcoones – so explain that for us?
      - Kampfer
        
        twincharger: yeah… I just bored. ^_^.
        
        Phil: I just checked Carsales: car year: 2002 to 2008, private seller cars in all states:
        
        Falcon: 1457
        Commodore: 2244
        Aurion+Avalon+Camry: 992
        Hilux: 1100
        
        There’re lot more Commodore for sell privately (and by dealers).
        
        I do agree very few owners keep their car forever, there’s why lot of those car for sell in the used market: simply because they sold a lot when they were new. The owners just got bored of the car and want new one…
        
        Simple maths right: more new car sold – more cars in the used market years later.
        
        Most owners I know that keep same cars forever are Toyota/old-Volvo owners…
      - twincharger
        
        Well put Kampfer..
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass
      
      Too true. Mate of mine just replaced an AU with a 12 month old FG G6E, said that’ll do him for the next 10 years. It’ll do him easily over that period as long as it gets basic servicing.
      - twincharger
        
        Australia is the worlds dumping for cars.Companys like Great Wall sell cars here,if they go well thet head off to places like America.There is so many cars for sale,some heavily discounted as new cars.
        In that scenario Karl no 2nd hand car will hold its value in this market.A friend on the weekend bought a SV6 Commodore sedan 08 with 60,000km for $18,000 with factory service history.Even some of the best cars on the road like BMW are loosing massive amounts on purchase price also adding the luxury car tax on that.
        However Phildo and Legnoddy will only make the example of Falcon ,Aurion and Commodore not to mention the hundreds of thousands of thoes cars on the road.For sale at any time.
      - Phil
        
        But how could there be thousands of used Falcoones for sale at any time? You said Falcoone are kept by their owners for life – which if it were true, you would not be able to find a used one.
        We’re still waiting for you to explain that…
  - JooberJCW
    
    Exactly, and a big stigma they have is that, its a taxi. Perceived reputation trumps over specifications, when it comes to marketing.
- Darryl
  
  Alan Mullaly is gradually winding it down on purpose so he can justify the exit strategy to the board. And get a bonus for doing it seamlessly, all the while accepting with a smile whatever us taxpayers give him.
Blake H_24

Falcons loosing it, somebody needs to do somthing drastic to keep it in the game, by that i dont mean just a limited edition with 19 inch alloys, for a start you guys need a GOOD commercial that shows some of the greatness this australian car has to offer.
- DanielD
  
  The dealer network for Ford and Fords attitude towards its customers is always the limitation on sales for Falcon or any Ford. Sometimes they go well, like Ranger , but something goes wrong with them, Ford and the dealers completely mismanage it and its slow decline from there. If that doesn’t work then they will start decontenting cars and taking shortcuts in production, until everyone has had enough of them and the products success starts to decline. Its the Ford Australia way and its all they ever do, year after year.
  
  No brilliant commercial will help fix a screwed up corporate view of the market that still thinks what worked in 1972, will work today. They just don’t get it and unfortunately both the factory workers and those who were employed at the dealers in “the good old days” pay with their jobs.
Andrew M

want to know whos hurting, Ill tell you its all of them equally, and for different reasons.The obvious is Ford because of their low sales numbers, But dont forget they sell a lot more upper spec vehicles and the Territory which has better margin. Ford also dont have the over heads or employee numbers of Toyota or Holden.
Sure their volume is lower, but the slightly lower volume is dont with much less staff.Holden, They employ a lot more staff than Ford yet sales volume of larger vehicles is similar.
They also have the Cruze which was promised initial Gov Funds with the intention to continue support, but the Gov has since scrapped the scheme. Their is lower margin in the Cruze. You cant tell me a small car for 20K has the same margin as a commodore for 40KToyota, Because most of their production here is export, the Aussie dollar being above $1 US versus 65cents has nearly halved their revenue.They have also said they were hurting.My Guess is it is the imported models Also propping Toyota Aus at the moment
Funk_docta52

Who the heck is buying all these Hiluxes?
- Andrew M
  
  Speaking of these hiluxes, you would think Caradvice would show a pic of the Hilux that is actually selling rather than an out dated model.
  
  Oh, and your answer is mining and other fleet.
  
  On another level, people keep saying Ford was silly for not building the Focus here, I reckon they would have been silly if they did.
  If anything the new Ranger should have been built here.
  It could have tapped into the Gov fleets etc because it would have been the only Australian made dual cab. They also wouldnt have any profit issues like with a small car because these utes would be on a profit level with large cars
- Amlohac
  
  More to the point, Hilux STILL have amazing re-sale value yet they are like buttholes, everyone seems to have one. When there were Commodores everywhere the re-sale on them took a HUGE dive.
  
  Maybe thats why people are buying them in droves, they know that 2-3 years down the track they will still get a half decent return on one.
- Labrys
  
  Mining companies. And miners.
- fredly
  
  If the Hilux has such a high resale value why do you see so few second hand ? In fact, mining companies run them into the ground and sell them for scrap.
  
  They can’t build the Ranger here, its not their car ! Its a Mazda.
Tynat98

I don’t care what anyone says but the latest Falcon is far far superior to the Commodore and Holden knows it. But if Ford don’t market it, it won’t sell. I think as someone has already said, that the CEO of Ford Australia wants it gone, so a halfhearted effort to advertise it will seal it’s fate. @legnab. “too fat , too heavy , no hatch , boring interior , old tech ,no economy, rep/taxi/bogan image , no longer on the wish list” You’ve never driven one have you? You also don’t understand all those specifications that manufacturers put into their sales brochures do you? Better you drive a Holden Omega with a 3L DI with no torque or power unless it is doing 6750rpm, and stay away from a Falcon. The Holden V6′s are glorified boat anchors compared to the Ford I6 which has not been an alloy head 250 for at least 2 decades mate.
- Legnab
  
  Dont drive a crummer , i like a hatch , you keep diving your old teck taxi mate , maybe you should put up on blocks its collectable hahaha .
- Gibbut
  
  anf you know what…. the alloy head 250 was a RIPPER. had one that had done 350 thou without changing anythhing but a waterpump, in an xe sedan.
  
  Look up ba falcons on carsales then look up the same year commodore. take no notice of the ex taxis, and see what the highest ks they have on them for sale.
  
  last time i checked ( a couple months ago ) a few falcs were 450 thousand kms plus…. the highest on any commodore was 250.
  
  strange i thought
FPVF6/VWGTD

Ive got a 2010 FG F6 as my car and my wife has a MY2011 GTD golf…

Funny how my wife rather drive the F6 than her golf hatch… I guess its because of the countless electrical issues that her golf has, but i will admit than when the little golf is running well its a fantastic little hatch, just a pity that its got gremlins inside its heart.
VW have been good with trying to sort the car out but unfortunately it looks like we have to live with it until we trade it in end of this year/early next year… Pity by that time the Focus titanium will be Thai built instead of german built as thats what would be on our shopping list for the VW’s replacement

As for the F6 well its done just on 70000kms and hasnt had one single problem at all, i guess sometimes lowish tech can be a good thing… especially when we travel long distances with our cars
- Robin_Graves
  
  According to the VW trolls around here you must be telling lies. Fingers in ears – LALALALALA I cant hear you!
  - Legnab
    
    YEP, 3900 new VW’S on the road in july all riddled with elec faults , just like the 28,000 sold in the US , the public just dont understand how stupid they are , although the majority would be educated and thinking people .
    - Garrwhopper
      
      I know I was happy to buy a golf, and it turned sour quickly, the defects in the golf cannot be ignored, one day vw will be known for the bad batch of golfs, like the p76
      - Legnab
        
        Bit like the front end defects in the territory ,still not fixed after 8 years , the appalling VE electrics ie air cons that die in 40c heat , made for aussie conditions not , the list is extensive .
      - Garrywhopper
        
        Yes all stuff you have read or heard 3rd hand about , this is what actually happened with my car, a bad experience that left me out of pocket, and drained after dealing with vw
      - Legnab
        
        No this is from reps calling on me who drive ford/gm cars with failures .
      - Garrywhopper
        
        Like I said, stories you have heard
      - Gibbut
        
        wow u just proved u know NOTHING
        
        Please continue with your garbage so people can get an idea on your lack of knowledge
      - http://twitter.com/BrendoBurgo Brendon Burgess
        
        As a former Holden Technician, I would never own a V6 VZ or VE Commodore past warranty due to the headgaskets leaking fluids after about 60,000 kms. Hence I drive a gas guzzling VE S2 SS because the engine is more dependable and only marginally worse on fuel(it has AFM)
      - Golfschwein
        
        I think it’s really, really unfair that your witty comments on the Chinese made Polo were removed.
      - Garrywhopper
        
        I agree, who doesn’t enjoy a bit of casual racism
    - Robin_Graves
      
      That’s why veedud wooden spoon in reliability results, riddled with defects, throw away ikea euro rubbish tarted up and flogged off to retarded try-hards as premium.
- Legnab
  
  Wow nice tall tale , on car sales your wife owns a MAZDA 3 SP25 since 2010 , and now shes driving a golf gtd , so thats 2 cars shes driving at once , and your trading the golf as its old hahaha , your as mixed up as the grave robber .
  
  So which is it does she own a mazda or a golf , its a mazda , and the golf was just a dream .
  - Robin_Graves
    
    A fault free stage 1 Golf with 180kW that you ‘own’ is a deam. Real golfs are all nightmares.
    - Legnab
      
      Had its first service last week , clean bill of health, rotated tyres , fresh oil , working like swiss watch , its actually 188kw and 410nm .
      
      Diagnostic results show its heart is perfect O faults , magic cars these GTI’S .
  - FPV F6/VWGTD
    
    For YOUR info we have both.
    
    The daughter now drives the SP25 as the Mazda was part of my wifes Salary package for the 2010/2011 two year period (her employer changes cars every 2 years or 80000kms).
    We since bought the mazda outright from the wifes work lease company for our daughter to drive as she was looking at a cheap old bomb to drive around and there was no way we were going to let happen.
    
    The GTD is now the wifes 2011/2012 work car that is part of her newer salary package, it was a car that the WIFE wanted and wanted to keep after the 2 yr/80000km period BUT she has since been using my car… It has all got quite messy with her employer due to the golfs issues
Youanmicars

well all I can say is that we have an EL falcon wagon amongst our drive cars which we have had from new its travelled 595500 kilometres , no its no a TAXI its straight , other than brake shoes, hoses fluids and sundries its never failed us it still sounds sweet, next year we look at the Territory and the Ford Everest / Endeavour , OPINION govts, ssires council have not supported local cars in their fleets , check it out here in W.A. they buy it all the brands SUBARU, HYUNDAI.,KIA all the HOLDEN & TOYOTA VOLKWAGEN MITSUBISHI the whole gambit of their   imported range  YES Landrovers Rangerovers YES ! why and odd exotic why …………support local   can’t price issues , consider a lot of importers are dumping their stock here and for good reason and in time the answer to that will become very clear .
Consider in the USA all the big guys now have factories there HONDA , TOYOTA, LEXUS, KIA, NISSAN , BMW, VOLKSWAGEN ,MERCEDES YEP ALL the left hand dr ML series made there and shipped atound the world why check it out unions population Govt influence jobs, I have worked within car manufacturing circuit for more than 40 years , I recall in the U.S. in 1995 a new Ford Crown Victoria fully loaded cost less than a local Ford Fairmont even after applying a 100% TAX 17 years ago is when Falcon was starting to fade ( Crown Vic a big pig of a car ) Ford was already with the one car syndrome ,,, along came the TEST Taurus cockroach what a winner , simply Australia is to small for the dynamics of car production unless it can EXPORT the interesting point of all departures in most fields the last models off the production are the best may be Leyland P76, Chrysler Valiant, Mitsubishi 380, Ford Falcon FG / FN ,,  Holden Commodore is evolving thru Cruze models with Opel ,
Yes I an old fart but I must agree Ford’s Marketing plan appears non existent build and they will come does not work , Travel the world car makers are in your face they want too cars ,if Ford does not shake it self up it will loose the Fusion entry, one thing Ford USA was one company that did not take up the GFC Govt aid ……..the company is still owned by the Ford family some 52 % + ,

Of course theres India China Mexico Hungary Russia, all with car plans,

so back in 1995 AUSTRALIA could have had cheap G.M. & Ford IMPORTS between them they could have almost stopped all the rice burners in held landcruiser back with F150 & Chev P/U’s

In the industry in the back rooms its all being played out E.G economies of scale Ford can not sustain 800 cars a month 2014 or sooner is the 2016 ,

Look at population driven markets with straight line marketing Jeep are producing 1000 JK Wranglers per day going all over the world love them or hate them and guess what they can not keep up demand ???????
Amlohac

Falcon doesnt even rate in the top 10. Looks like the population of Oz are together hamering the nail into that coffin.

You’d think that Ford would at least TRY to prop up sales of that vehicle, no matter how everyone on here feels (its just a taxi etc etc) from Fords point of view its a vehicle that they have for sale, at LEAST until 2016. Surely a bit of effort on their behalf might even give the brand a boost in terms of vFacts rankings. I mean 5th… seriously wtf are they doing!?
- Rocket
  
  Ford are making some of the best cars in their class. Fiesta, Focus, Falcon, Ranger, Territory and the new Mondeo and Kuga will also be up there next year. They may not be winning the sales race but all these cars are better to drive than most.
  - Amlohac
    
    I dont rate Ford after sales service, horrible experience myself, maybe some people have had different experiences.
    
    What i’m having trouble understanding is, Ford dont make awful cars like you said, is it a marketing problem? Are their sales staff not interested enough to sell cars beyond the fleet market? There has to be something wrong here for a company like Ford to fall off the perch.
    
    As someone else has said on this thread, having a CEO who publicly cans the Falcon on its future 3 years down the track cant bode well with potential customers, im sure some people out there would just think “Well if you wont be building it soon we wont bother”
    - DanielD
      
      One of the challenges of buying a Ford vehicle you might like, is you have to buy it from a Ford dealer. For many who have had past experiences with them, thats the beginning and end of the discussion on buying a Ford. They aren’t alone in deliverying bad experiences to customers – every brand has a story, but they are very, very good at not meeting expectations.
  - F1MotoGP
    
    Yes Ford makes good cars. I like the Focus, modern engine with DI but somehow does not sell. New car sale from Jan to end of June in Europe Focus is 8th. I thought it would be top 3.
    
    1 Golf 39811, 2 Corsa 29890, 3 Polo 28407, 4 Fiesta 26430, 5 Megana 23692, 6 Astra 23569, 7 Clio 22946, 8 Focus 22068, 9 Qashqai 21682, 10 BMW 3 series 20112.
    - Legnab
      
      The Megane is 5th ?
http://twitter.com/jackkl Jack

I keep reading the comments about Ford Australia and its lack of advertising.

Ford Australia could create the greatest advertising campaign ever made, and I would not be surprised if sales continued to decline, or at least were flat. What about the rest of the marketing mix: the product itself (as well as positioning, packaging, branding), its price (and more importantly, value) and the placement (dealer network, customer service)?

Something is keeping the Australian car buying public away from Australian large cars – at a time where we’ve never had greater choice. You cannot blame Ford’s marketing department for a decline that’s been a long time in the making.
- Gibwater
  
  Jack,marketing has little to do with it.The buying public has simply moved on.They KNOW the Falcon is there,and what it is.Despite the Ecoboost and LPI model coming aboard,the public are not interested.They want a differant kind of Ford-not a differant kind of Falcon.Sales have steadily declined every year since 2003.Its been a very gradual trend,not a sudden dip due to lack of marketing. Despite all this,the suits at Ford havn’t learn’t a thing. They need a new(preferably locally built) car that will appeal to the masses,not taxi operaters.The Falcon name and concept is very tired.Another problem was releasing an ‘all new’ model (the FG) that is hard to tell apart from the previous model-a car whose sales were even then getting dangerously low.
  - chook
    
    Anyone whose got normal vision can see the difference from BF to FG…….do some people actually realise that FG panels are not interchangeable with BF……many dopeysh!t people wouldnt think so .
    - Legnab
      
      All looks the same boring sheet metal to me , just like AU in drag , taxi’s dont change much , the falcoon is the good old checker cab in new york , checkers probably more reliable .
      - Jober As A Sudge
        
        Falcoon?
      - Legnab
        
        Like in cheesy , what were you thinking , OMG thats not nice .
      - Jober As A Sudge
        
        Lame
Captain Nemo®™

Just been reading Friday’s Carsguide and some guy was asking for advice on buying a Corolla.

He said the dealer had let slip there was a new model. He was asking CG “will there be much change in the models & shape” He didn’t want to spend his money and find he had bought the old shape. But what made me laugh was his reason for choosing a Corolla after looking at other cars “was good resale & a full size spare” now i,am sure most other manufacturers would throw in a full size spare at little or no cost if it means a sale.
But it seems he was happy to overlook Toyota’s short 6 month service intervals & bland looks.
Twerpy O’Moron

According to VFACTS passenger car sales made up only 50% of the market in July with the other half SUVs, commercials and trucks. To my knowledge this is the first time non-passenger vehicles have taken half the market in a month.
Hayski

The faster the australian automotive industry dies the faster we can all enjoy cheaper tarrif protection free cars.
- Hung Low
  
  Hopefully you work for a call centre that is about to move off shore.
- Captain Nemo®™
  
  Hayski you’re kidding yourself bud if you think the demise of the Aussie auto industry will mean cheaper cars. I,am sure you are aware of our FTA with Thailand despite 0% tariffs Thai built cars like the Jazz are some of the dearest light cars (note i said SOME not the dearest) Imagine the price of the Jazz if it was subjected to our “high” 5% tariffs.
  - matt
    
    like it was when it came from japan for abit with no price increase?
- chook
  
  Youre just a typical selfish scab……thinking that way !!….shame on you pig !!
sam123

The thing is, a car these days is a fashion statement. A Falcon is out of fashion. For me, thats where it’s all at. The rest of the argument is beside the point. Its the same reason people want Vw’s and SUV’s.
- sam123
  
  Gees my use of apostrophes is attrocious, but its nothing compared to some of the usage of “there”, “their” and “they’re” that I have read above.
- Phil
  
  Right, so the celebrities wanting to make a fashion statement by arriving at the premiere in a fashionable car will be rolling up to the red carpet in a Toyota Hilux or Toyota Corolla?
  
  Not a single SUV or VW in this months top ten.
  - sam123
    
    Correct, a Falcon is not in fashion. A Small hatchback is, or a ute, as you correctly point out. We are all subject to fashion and fads, nobody said anything about celebrities….
    - Phil
      
      People buying a Crapolla are doing so because they want something cheap to get from A to B not because of some sort of “fashion statement”. Why pick a Falcoone when a Crapolla will do the same job for 1/2 price?
      Likewise a fleet manager ordering a bunch of Hiluxs for his company has nothing to do with fashion. A Falcoone sedan or even the Ute version cannot carry out as many duties as a Hilux.
      - AMG63
        
        Yeah I dont understand why the Big six (sedan) folks are getting all steamed over little four bangers. There was a time when you wouldnt have even mentioned the two in the same breath. They are just not in the same group. A recent (aussie mag) compared the usual little hot hatch/4 cyl suspects incl Clio, Megane, REX against an SV6 and the Toyo 86. The lil four bangers smashed the SV6 around the track. In fact the SV6 could only beat the underpowered 86 by a few tenths. Though this comparo says as much about the 86′s claims to handle well -(this was supposed to be its saving grace against the big boys of the hot hatch brigade) – I am just not sure why the Big six folk get so worked up about, for example, a 4cyl Golf. What are they worried about??
      - AndyGF
        
        Never mind the SV6 or the 86;
        
        The whole reason top gear Australia was cancelled, there was an episode due to air the very week after the show was cancelled where a Clio Sport took on a Falcon GT, supercharged V8, and the Clio trounced it… In virtually every test they threw at the two of them.
        Was very surprised… at first.
        
        You can find those episodes on TGs website.
      - JooberJCW
        
        AndyGF: won’t trounce it on a sprint, its a muscle car, its all about the grunt and straight line speed. Around a track, the twisties its no brainer.
      - sam123
        
        Yes, they buy the corolla because it matches their fashion sense. If they only wanted something cheap, they would have bought a Kia or something. Not everyone wants mega bling, but everyone wants a car that suits their style, and I can tell you those people who bought Corolla probably wouldnt be seen dead in a Kia because they think its not fashionable even though it will do the same job for them. They dont want people at Church/School/Bowls/Shopping to think they are Kia drivers, that is not the image they want to portray.
      - Phil
        
        You would have to be nuts to think people buy Corollas for fashion rather than price.
        
        Furthermore Kia’s days of dirt cheap cars have gone and they’re around the same price as a Toyota – in some cases they’re actually more expensive.
        Additionally most/if not all of the current model Kias would be considered far more stylish than a comparable Toyota by any normal person.
        
        It is truly imcomprehensible that you think Toyota’s are stylish or portray some sort of prestigious image.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YQLKLFNYP3UFBFAGOV2LNDSREA Robert Ryan

The running down of manufacturing generally, due to the idiotic handling of the so called “Mining boom” has hurt a lot of people and will hurt a lot more if nothing is done.
- sam123
  
  Yeah, and I wish they would stop calling it the mining ‘boom’. The boom part has been and gone, about 10 years ago. We Have a mining industry, a very good and strong one. However, to call it a boom in 2012 is a complete fallacy.
  - matt
    
    agreed, instead of every tax payer giving the mining companies ~$180 a year for dirt cheap diesel…. shift it to the manufacturing industry as a whole they bloody need it
greenteablacktea

Nowadays people prefer to buy a medium or large size SUV instead of large sedan.