Car News

French cars have posted some of their worst sales results in Australia on record, according to the latest official sales figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. The three brands, Citroen, Renault and Peugeot, have only reported 797 sales between them in the first two months of 2021, down by more than 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The race to a hydrogen future appears to have been won by Hyundai after registering its first fleet of hydrogen cars in Australia last month. The Korean car maker and its Japanese rival Toyota are both on the brink of introducing a fleet of hydrogen vehicles. Hyundai is part of a project in the nation's capital while Toyota is co-developing a hydrogen refuelling facility in Melbourne.

New-car sales posted their third month in a row in positive territory as COVID-19 travel restrictions eased and dealers continued to fill backorders in January 2021. Former favourite Holden also appears to have taken its last breath, with zero cars reported as sold in January 2021.

BMW M has beaten Mercedes-AMG in the international performance-car sales race in 2020, despite a global pandemic – however, the brands' Australian arms tell a contrasting tale. BMW M shifted 144,218 vehicles globally in 2020, compared to 125,129 Mercedes-AMGs – a 6 per cent increase for BMW, but a 5.3 per cent decrease for Mercedes, indicating a far more decisive sales win over BMW's 3693-unit lead over AMG in 2019.

The Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon may have been consigned to the history books, however the Toyota Camry has outlasted them and gone from strength to strength, becoming the top-selling medium-size sedan in Australia for the 27th year in a row. Even at the height of their powers, the longest winning streak for the Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon was 15 years – when the Commodore led the market until 2011. In the decades prior, both brands swapped the lead every few years or so.