June car sales soar to record levels

AUSTRALIAN car buyers stormed the showrooms in June, with end-of-financial-year sales, business tax breaks and low interest rates driving the new-vehicle market to what is expected to be its best month in history.

And for the first time, Hyundai’s i30 hatchback led the way, topping the sales ladder with more than 5500 sales, according to preliminary figures shared by motor companies.

Although official VFACTS sales figures will not be released until tomorrow, GoAuto expects the industry’s June sales tally to top 120,000 vehicles, perhaps rising to 125,000.

This would eclipse the 118,758 units sold in June 2013 – the previous best month.

Many car companies are reporting a bumper month, with several company sales volume records in danger.

As always, Toyota topped the sales ladder on the back of its usual strong end-of-financial-year June performance, but some of its rivals such as Holden and Hyundai appear to have put in the long strides with special offers on their various models.

Holden is believed to have regained second place for the month with more than 11,700 sales – down on last year’s Holden June tally of 12,332 vehicles and just in front of a fast-closing Hyundai which scored a company record sales total of about 11,000 units.

About half of the Hyundai sales were secured by the company’s top seller, the i30, which hit the spot with a $19,990 driveaway offer that included a free automatic transmission.

This sub-$20k offer qualified for the federal government’s recently announced tax breaks for ABN holders, with many businesses getting in for their new company cars before June 30.

It was the first time that the i30 had toppled the regular market leaders, the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3, in monthly sales, although the i30’s predecessor, the Excel, did the job with a stunning 8663 sales effort in 1998.

The Corolla is believed to have come second, with about 4100 sales.

Luxury car-makers also appear to have had a stunning first half of the year, with the likes of Mercedes-Benz having its second-best month for 2015 in June.

This was helped by about 900 sales of its volume leader, the C-Class – approaching the record 918 units sold in March.