One million new cars sold in 2007
January 7, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
It has finally happened and 2007 was the year for it. Australians have for the first time bought more than one million new motor vehicles in a single year.
VFACTS sales figures released a few hours ago by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that the one million mark was beaten by almost 50,000 sales, with the final number reaching 1,049,982 cars, trucks and buses. This is an increase of 87,316 or 9.1 percent over 2006.
The second best year on record is 2005 with 988,269 sales. If you think about it, there are only 21 million of us, so for over one million new cars to be sold each year, it is quite an impressive feat.
One million new motor vehicles sales in a country of 21 million people is an impressive achievement by the Australian automotive industry – and ranks as one of the highest rates of new car purchase in the developed world,” said FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar.
The growth has been steady for the last few years, with last year’s figures showing an improvement of 277,000 vehicles (35 per cent) since 2001 – which by no means correlates to population growth.
According to the FCAI 2008 should see yet another 1,000,000 record.
“Last year the motor vehicle market grew at approximately twice the rate of the economy as a whole, although economic fundamentals remain strong and consumer confidence is proving to be robust, we think future growth will be more closely aligned with trends in overall domestic demand.” said Andrew McKellar.
So the big question, what was the best selling car.
- Holden Commodore – 57,307 sales.
- Toyota Corolla – 47,792 sales
- Toyota HiLux – 42,009
Yep, the HiLux was the third best selling vehicle last year, not bad for Toyota which managed to sell five of the eight most popular vehicles.
The rise in numbers have been due to a boom in some unexpected segments such as SUVs and light commercial vehicles. The SUV market grew by 16.0 per cent – a big change from its dismal year in 2006. The 4×4 segment managed a 22.3 per cent growth. Small cars were up 5.9 per cent, light cars up 10.2 percent.
The trend towards smaller cars continued with the category remaining the largest volume segment of the market with 232,388 sales, (large cars only managed 139,677 sales).
However according to McKeller, it would be far too simplistic to conclude that there is a general move by Australian consumers to smaller cars.
“While sales of smaller cars have been growing strongly, in 2007 sales of SUVs and 4×4 Pick-ups grew even faster.” said Andrew McKellar.
The top three brands were unchanged with Toyota taking out the first place for the fifth year in a row with 22.5 per cent share of the total market, Holden managed second with 14.0 per cent and Ford was third with 10.3 per cent.
Print it: 
Been to any of the new mines lately – HiLux city – sure to have boosted sales in ‘07. The resource boom is sure to have been a big part of this.
I picked up my brand new SUV on the 31/12. They certainly are versatile, tows well, safe, big load area and I’m getting below 9L/100 around town. It’s using less than my V6 sedan.
Safe is relative.
A higher centre of gravity means it cannot be dynamically as safe as a traditional sedan.
The high ride also blocks the view of other road users making it hard to drive safely by knowing what’s ahead up the road.
And of course they’re not safe for pedestrians or car drivers as the impact point in accidents is much higher.
But there’s no denying their versatility and popularity.
Realistically, the figures show that Australians aren’t shifting to small cars despite the high fuel prices. When you think of sales in terms of the size of vehicle, the growth in SUV and 4×4 segment crushes that seen in small and light cars. I think that overall any drift from large cars has in fact been absorbed by the SUV/4×4 market.
The aging Falcon was not even in the top three. Hopefully that will change at the end of the year.
Idoubt it Oz ,the Australian car buying public are not that stupid.
yes they are Dennis, they keep buying rebadged Holdens, if a GM Daewoo is so great why don’t they get much praise ummmmmm well, Australian public will wake up sooner or later…
Dennis, don’t be so biased to Holdenwoo. What do you hate about Ford.
Hey Greg!! Where we find more guys like you! :D
Cheers!!! OZ, we are a dying breed but while I’m still kicking every effort to defend better brands won’t ever die :-)
Greg,
people are buying rebadged daewoos because they can play basket ball whereas the new falcon wont be programmed to ha ha ha ha
Falcon crazy,
mate i dont need to go past the mines to see a hilux, i only needed to look out the window when they were building this great new waterpipe line right past our place. they had a swag of lux’s plastered with a magnet on the door.
also when ever i get held up at roadworks just look out the window too and see all the big heads sitting in them talking on their hands free phones.
oh and people are moving from large cars are they?
well how come the Commy still is the big seller?
i know they sell a lot to fleets but 2nd and 3rd place sell a hell of a lot to them too.
Where is Frugal One? He claims the Orion will be another 380 because people are just buying small cars, not Large sedans anymore. Mate, If that’s so, how come the VE Holden is at the top?
And I forgot to mention the SUV sales have gone up last year, so high fuel prices are not stopping anything. So why will the orion Falcon fail?
The Commodore has done better than i thought, i hope they keep up the sales because it may be a big fight between the Commodore and the new falcon! This Year!
The bulk of the people who are buying rebadged Daewoo’s buy them because they believe they are purchasing a good product from Holden with no or little knowledge it is actually a product from Daewoo.
But … a Daewoo is a Daewoo regardless of the badge so in-time when these vehicles don’t age as gracefully as many other much more reputable brands then it is inevitable that Holden’s name will be further tarnished.
Personally – i’m all for it because Holden has never really been a brand known for it’s quality cars. Infact, if you actually take the time and look at some of the cars they have offered in the past – it is undeniable that Holden has offered the Australian motorist some of the worst ever cars to have graced our roads.
It is way over due for our motorist to be more educated about Holden compared to the vast array of far more superior brands to be purchased from.
Honda, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, VW and even Ford’s new range of vehicles are all good examples.
Mikka,
People still bought HOLDEN Torana, Commodore ansd Gemini (even though the Gemini wasnt a great car)!
Duck,
ssshhhhhhhhhh i think you just proved Mikkas point by that comment
lol Mikka, your argument justifying sales of Daewoo built Holden products is a bit misguided. People are buying these cars because some of them are genuinely decent products, for the price of course.
Case in point, a close friend of mine is a lifetime Holden nut and he has just gone out and bought a Captiva for his young family. Why? Holden designed and built engine, with an exterior designed by Mike Simcoe, also Australian. Jump in the luxury model and you’ll see what I mean, its a solid product and the sales demonstrate this. People who continue to knock it despite its sales success are clearly showing a certain degree of badge snobbery.
Oz Im not quite sure what you meant in other article… this is all good news for Toyota, especially when you consider that the Commodore is purely number 1 off the back of fleet sales
Sales success of Capitva lol? Besides sales can be a rough indication of a good product, but sometimes its deceptive and in the Daewoo-Holdens its the deceptive componed. Case in point, Holden Barina, 2 star safety rating… yet they still make SOME sales. There are alot of dumb people in this world.
TP,
i love how the Toyota glass is always half full yet the holden and ford glass is always half empty.
if holdens higher sales show the public are misguided then wouldnt toyotas higher sales mean the same?
also as i already pointed out 2nd and 3rd place on the list are also massive fleet sales
also i didnt think the daewoos apart from captiva were getting good sales?
No comment from Mikka …………………..yet!
Umm Paul? So is the hilux a major fleet vechicle and your Corolla, no.1 for fleet sales
Duck,
once again sssshhhhhhhhhh you have proved Mikkas theory that people will buy holdens even if they are crap
Jason – having a Holden built engine is absolutely nothing to brag about at all because we all know how ruff, gruff, harsh and vocal the crapotech is.
And may i remind you that the Viva is extradinary average at the very best while the Barina has ‘one of’ or ‘if not’ – the lowest safety rating of all.
Lets face it … some years ago just about our entire nation pulled the mickey out of a Daewoo but now all the Holden clowns try and actually defend them.
Seriuosly … who are the badge snobs here !!
TP is right … there are some dumb people all right. Great example – when the VE was released Holden proved how stuid and foolish they are by advertsing that the new VE range is actually capable of taking on that of the worlds very best despite the fact it is hard pressed against local ‘FAMILY’ hacks like the Falcon, 380 and Aurion.
Better still – they try and compare themselves to highly regarded and respected marques while selling Daewoo’s under the same badge.
Even better again – Holden has just annonced ‘YET’ another recall of the Crapdore making it the 4th in as little as the few months it has been on sale and that doesn’t remind us about all the other ‘vast array’ of quality faults that have been identified todate.
Does your car start in the morning … ooch !!
Lets face it – most manufactuers these days are bringing out some fantastic examples while even Ford is heading down the right track while Holden – well … that’s another story with thier new found love of Daewoo.
And lets face it – some of the most awful vehicles to have ever grace dour roads have come from Holden while i believe thier skeleton pile is bigger then Mt Kosiosko. I can give you a list of names bigger then my arm right now of all the ‘come and go’ FAILED ATTEMPTS from Holden.
Apart from the Commodore – Holden themselves have no idea what they really stand for.
Andrew – as published by DRIVE during the year – approx 80% of Commodore and Falcon sales are fleet while approx 60% of Corolla sales are private.
That said – the Hilux enjoys just as much enjoyment from private sales as what they do with fleet.
Regardless, apart from selling 236 000 vehicles in 2007 alone of which is absolute genocide against Holden and Ford – 5 of the top 8 biggest sellers were Toyota vehicles alone.
No matter how you look at it … Toyota (yet again) just slaughtered Holden and Ford … PERIOD !!
Ease up Mikka…….Holden isn’t that bad…..
The VE is a WHOLE new package for them and like most new models they come with faults…..Give credit where credit is due……..they have picked up in their handling and do at least export something that FPV wont ever do unless Ford can make a car left hand hook for them!! Their taking Australia to the World and showing the Yanks how to really make cars!Even showing the UK what the Colonials can do!
I guess they are trying maybe they do fail in areas but no one ever succeeds by giving up!
So what is the 4th recall for VE? I haven’t heard anything about it yet?
Watto – go to DRIVE BLOG (DRIVE) and read all about it – just released late today.
Drive states it is the third recall but infact it is the fourth … fuel hose related risk – 86 000 recalled in total
Bavarian – fair enough !!
I only attack Holden according to thier own behaviour and advertsing regime. If that’s the way they chose to promote the VE then that’s how people should judge them accordingly.
My issue with Holdens advertising is more to do with portraying their whole range as Australian.
A friend was going to buy a Barina and I warned her off it, stating the 2-star safety rating it received. She honestly thought Barina (and the rest) were built in Oz. She got a shock when I clued her in.
Mikka – I can’t remember what the other recalls were beside the seatbelt clasp. Wasn’t one of them a fuel line problem too?
At least Holden offer a somewhat inspiring design and have made a significant investment for what is a small market to offer the public what no Toyota can match in style and desirability.
If you want a box on wheels(APPLIANCE)buy a Toyota. Old fossils buy em with their Super payouts mainly keeping true to Lawsie.How common to see two blue rinsers sitting high in a Landcruiser.Drive over the top of anyone in their way.A towering metal fortress to protect their frail and withered bodies as they return to their gated community.
In regard to the Commodore recall who cares if the prob is fixed at the first service?
Watto – (1) Seat Belt (2) fuel hose and to a lesser extent the (3) LPG service valve. This will make it no.4 in total but no.3 safety orintated.
The thing is though … it is the second fuel hose related recall.
New falcon means back to number 1 for the falcon again.
Missile it is a new range so it will have problems, but seatbelts and fuel leaks ffs. 1.2 bill dollars and they are having safety issues for gods sake.
As for you guys defending the Daewoo line up, get real, we laughed at Daewoo in the 90’s and then they went broke. They are selling us 10 year old engineering, safety, ABS is an option on the barina ffs, none of this line can have support ESP, the engineering is that old(captiva excluded). this isnt evolution its bloody devolution!
As for the guy who was having a shot at toyo’s appliance styling, please explain viva, barina and epica!
You guys defend holden cause its an AUSSIE product, they are selling us old junk from overseas, mostly unsafe, and it will fall to bits. You want your daughter to be driving a Barina when its in an accident?
Realcars, the VE is built for fleets, 57000 units @ 80% is around about 46000 fleet sales, thats less than a 1000 units sold to private buyers a month. WTF are you on about?
Not getting into an argument James we have had one of those before regarding Germans and Japs if you remember!
I am just trying to say there is a bad in every manufacturer….safety of cause is an issue more than say a faulty window switch,but they have addressed it ! Im sure more effort will be taken in further updates of the VE series! Thats coming from a Ford supporter too!
Do you guys that support Japanese’s branded cars want a medal or a chest to pin it on??heheheehe.
I do missile!
Id rather pin the medal of the aussies missile, if they would just let me!
Mikka,
tecnicality………
i dont think it was holden making it up that they compare well to many respected names etc. cause in the ads they quote such lines as coming from certain reviewers.
so i didnt think it was really holden blowing their own trumpet
It’s generally accepted that if you can hold off; you don’t buy the first of a brand new series or model as that’s when the majority of problems occur.. particularly when it’s a completely new change [like VZ toe VE] and not just a facelift.
However; these recalls are to rectify potential faults not a proven fault like a supercharger causing an engine to seize and start a small fire in a nre FWD car.
Wheelnut,
technicality……..
isnt the recall on the VE’s with this latest issue because a fault has been proven?
I guess so
Holden made the recall announcement because the clamp on the fuel line “can” come loose – [which they discovered in testing] Which could cause a leak and potentially a fire. Yet as no there have been no reports of a fire caused by a fuel line leak..
Therefore as far as driver/public safety is concerned it’s a potential problem.
Whereas with the TRD Aurion the Supercharger did infact cause the engine to seize and start a fire.. which was reported and very evident.
Therefore: the VE recall is just to be on the safe side.
Whereas the TRD recall was more like ” [expletive]! look what happened.. we better fix that hey?
I admit both are a safety issue but at least Holden discovered the “problem” before anything major occured like a fire or loss of life.
Wheelnut,
i thought it was because fuel leaks had been reported therefore a proven design fault that allowed such fuel lines to rub