Car News

A petrol-electric hybrid vehicle has topped the monthly sales charts for the first time in Australian automotive history – as Victoria’s strict lockdown restrictions kept the market in reverse during the coronavirus crisis. The Toyota RAV4 SUV was the nation’s top-selling vehicle for the second month in a row, but the hybrid version alone accounted for the overwhelming majority of sales – and was enough to lead the entire market in its own right.

New-car sales in Victoria slowed by a greater margin than any other state or territory in July 2020 – and with dealerships now closed for six weeks due to a second wave of the coronavirus, there are grave concerns about a market recovery and potential job losses. While Victoria is at the start of a six-week lockdown, buyers had already started applying the brakes in July.

The local arm of Japanese luxury carmaker, Lexus, is riding the crest of a hybrid wave, with its range of electrified vehicles accounting for around 30 per cent of local sales. And while Lexus has confirmed its first all-electric vehicle, the crossover UX300e with 400km of range, will go on sale in China and Europe this year, it’s unlikely to make its way Down Under anytime soon.

Car dealers are running low on new vehicles to sell after being caught short due to an unexpected increase in demand in June – compounded by factory shutdowns during the coronavirus crisis – however industry insiders say the market is still a long way from a full recovery. Preliminary figures for new-car sales in June have industry insiders predicting it will be the second month in a row of growth after the market posted a 30-year low in April and a 23-year low in May.

The Kia Stinger that has come out on top in the battle for a slice of the shrinking large car market, according to latest figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Kia sold 93 Stingers in May, beating out the Holden Commodore (40 sales) and the only other combatant in the segment, the Skoda Superb (15).