MAZDA 3 Outsold Commodore in January!!!

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January was a month to forget for the local car industry, with the imported Mazda3 small car knocking the Holden Commodore off its perch as Australia's top-selling car - and Mazda outselling Ford for the first time.

Official figures are yet to be released, but the car companies exchange information at the end of each month and an industry insider with access to the figures has confirmed the sales boil-over to Drive.


The local industry has been under siege from imported cars in recent years and the once dominant Commodore has now been outsold by three imported cars in the past twelve months, with the Toyota Corolla and HiLux both snatching the monthly sales crown during 2008.

January is believed to be the first time an import-only brand has landed in the top three selling car makers in the country.

The local car makers traditionally have trouble selling cars in January because they sell mainly to fleet buyers, who don’t usually change over their cars over the holiday period.

But the result will still send shockwaves through Ford’s Broadmeadows headquarters, which is struggling to deal with critically low sales of its bread and butter large vehicles, the Falcon sedan and ute and the Territory off-roader.

Falcon sales were up by about 400 units on last January’s dismal 1252 sales, but Territory sales dipped by roughly 40 per cent.

Spokeswoman Sinead McAlary says the company has seen preliminary sales figures for January but won’t discuss its result until the official figures are released on Wednesday.

Mazda also declined to comment until the figures were released.

The result reflects the enormous challenge facing the country's three manufacturers. With the global car industry in freefall, sluggish sales of Australian-built cars threaten the viability of the local industry.

Australia's car plants already operate on low volumes by world standards and all three manufacturers are planning to introduce new model lines to improve their chances of survival in a shrinking market.

No-one in the industry is likely to be rejoicing this month, with initial figures indicating sales are down by roughly 18 per cent on last January.

One car maker who has bucked the trend is Hyundai, which appears to have discovered a silver lining in the current economic gloom.

Spokesman Ben Hershman says the maker’s sales are up by close to 17 per cent and he believes recession-hit consumers are looking for a bargain.

“We have responded to the fact that people are looking to tighten their belts with some great deals and I guess people recognise us as a value-for-money brand,” he says.

The result continues a trend away from large, locally-built vehicles to small imports. Market leader Toyota is also struggling to sell its locally-built cars, the Aurion and Camry.

Last year, the Toyota Corolla came close to claiming the annual sales crown from the Commodore, while the Mazda3 small car was the top selling vehicle to private buyers.

Holden also struggled to make an impact in January, with sales reportedly down by about 15 per cent, while market leader Toyota had a horror start to the year with sales down by roughly 25 per cent.

www.drive.com.au