Aussie Motoring

The job market might have contracted in the United States and maybe even a little here in Australia but the Australian Government’s incentives to keep the economy moving seem to have worked in June. In fact it’s been the third highest selling month on record!

The latest new vehicle sales data shows encouraging results with clear signs the market has been boosted by strong, additional demand from business sales. Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 102,847 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in June 2009.

This is the third highest selling month on-record, following 106,541 in June 2008 and 105,097 in June 2007.

“The June results are encouraging and a positive sign for the new vehicle market and the Australian economy,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“This is the third highest selling month on-record and only the fourth time ever that sales have exceeded 100,000 units in a single month,” he said.

Business purchases in June were 46,679 – a 12 per cent increase on a year ago.  In particular, sales of utes, vans and light trucks have surged by 26.9 per cent compared to June 2008.

“The surge in business sales is directly attributed to the Federal Government’s business tax break and these figures provide clear evidence that this has been a very effective policy measure,” Mr McKellar said.

“Our analysis indicates that the business tax break has led to an additional 10,000 vehicles being sold over the past three months.  That is a 10 to 12 per cent boost to business sales and a five per cent increase for the total market,” he said.

“This is additional turnover of between three-and-four-hundred million dollars that is providing a direct boost to the car industry as well as other local businesses throughout the Australian economy,” Mr McKellar said.

“The tax break is classic stimulus; it is giving businesses the confidence to invest in their own future and securing jobs in the industry,” Mr McKellar said.

Year-to-date 455,223 new vehicles have been sold, down 16.1 per cent (87,472) compared to the same period last year.

Toyota continued in the top sales position in June with 21,410 vehicle sales, ahead of Holden with 12,167 and Ford with 10,194.

Great Wall … it may not have the same ring as Holden, Falcon or any of the other major car manufacturers but I have a suspicion that you’re going to be hearing a whole lot more of it in the very near future … in fact you’ll probably start hearing more about it this week.

While Great Wall may not have much of a ring to it … and Wingle definitely doesn’t give you a subconcious image of strength and reliability … those are the names that you are going to be hearing about as Great Wall launches it’s first vehicle in Australia during this coming week.

Unlike most new manufacturers who launch in Australia with a sedan Great Wall is launching with two 4-door utes. The Wingle shown here is the 2.4 litre version and the two-wheel drive version will start here at around $23,990

This version will have a 2.4 litre petrol engine - 5 speed manual - leather seat trim - airconditioning - power steering - central locking but no airbags. The 2.2 litre version will have the same specs but will start at $19,990. 4WD versions will also be available

And that price point is the reason that you will be hearing more about them. At that price and roadside assistance on a three year warranty these utes will look rather attractive to your average cash-strapped tradie.

You can see more of the Great Wall range by following the link.

The ABC is reporting that Trident Tooling and Trident Plastics, both located in South Australia, have gone into voluntary administration after a major customer failed to make a payment.

Which customer that might be has not been disclosed but Trident’s major customes are Holden, Ford and Mitsubishi.

Trident Plastics remains in operation and the administrator is optimistic that the company will continue to operate but the future for Trident Tooling is unclear.

This beautiful US based Porsche 993 twin turbo was sold not long after it went up for sale back in November. Now it’s for sale again so if you missed last year here’s another chance to pick up a stunning piece of Mr Porsche’s art.

So General Motors … the parent company for Holden … is now in bankruptcy. While that’s a position that few could have imagined a year or two ago it’s a reality and it’s giving General Motors a chance to restructure.

That restructuring includes selling off a large chunk of GM Europe … almost certainly to a Canadian company … closing a number of plants in the US and putting others into temporary shut down.

While we’re hearing lots of encouraging words from Holden and our politicians about the future of Holden not much information seems to be coming out of the United States at the moment. So don’t be surprised to see Holden end up being sold off in the near future … or maybe even closed.

At the moment the automotive industry is in such turmoil that there are no guarantees … even for a national icon like Holden.

Way back at the beginning of May we reported that Fiat was well in the running to purchase GM’s European brands of Opel, Vauxhall and Saab … a move that would catapult it into second spot on the world rankings of car manufacturers.

However at the end of May talks between GM and Fiat broke down when the Fiat CEO claimed that he was unable to get full access to the financials of Opel. That doesn’t seem to have worried GM too much because, waiting in the wings was the Canadian spare parts maker Magna.

Magna … with financial backing from Russia is now set to take control of GM Europe.

The big news in America at the moment is the dropping by General Motors and Chrysler of around 3,000 new car dealers.

General Motors has around 6,000 new car dealers spread across the country and plans to terminate up to 2,000 of them and the official announcement is expected soon.

Chrysler is said to be planning to shed around 1,000 new car dealers but an announcement by the manufacturer is not imminent.

The word on the streets is that we could see some Holden dealers disappear soon too. Just when that’s likely to happen is not clear but if it is going to happen then between now and the end of June is a good bet.

Perhaps we should take a break in the midst of all this doom and gloom and spend a few moments in a different era … an era when cars were big and no one worried about fuel consumption.

So let’s go back to a year before I was born … it’s 1950 and the Hudson Motor Car Company - established in 1909 - was busy building the 1950 Hudson. Although the 1950 Hudson was a big car the body was surprisingly light in weight yet very strong and the car handled well on the roads.

The 1950 Hudson saw the introduction of what was known as a “step-down” body where the floor of the car was actually lower than the bottom of the door. Today every car you can buy has that “step-down” body but back then Hudson was the first and sadly it was that innovation that saw the end of the Hudson Car Company.

While the “step-down” body added to the strength of the car it made restyling very expensive and a small car manufacturer like Hudson could not change it’s designs quickly enough to keep up with the big car makers.

Today there are still a number of 1950 Hudsons around and I managed to come across two on two consecutive Saturdays this month. This was the first one and I caught it just a few blocks from my home in Hervey Bay.

I somehow doubt that the car was delivered from the factory in that paint scheme.

The second 1950 Hudson was parked in the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane and the owner was attending the same model railway exhibition that I had just come from.

This one is perhaps a little closer to the way it would have looked when it was first delivered.

I wouldn’t have seen it parked amongst the other cars unless the parking attendant hadn’t drawn my attention to it. I don’t walk around with a sign on me that says “Car Enthusiast” … he had just noticed me taking a photo of a 1960s Mustang parked a few rows away.

Each month the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries releases sales figures for the previous month and each month since the sale of new cars began to decline the statement that accompanies those figures has grown shorter and shorter.

This month it took just seven paragraphs to state the obvious and try and put a brave face on the situation.

This was the statement issued on May 5

Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 63,965 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in April 2009 – down 23.9 per cent (20,096 vehicles) compared to the same month in 2008.

“While the figures confirm that market conditions remain soft, the extent of the fall has been compounded by the timing of the Easter holidays,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

Year-to-date 276,935 new vehicles have been sold, down 20.3 per cent compared to the same period last year.

“After adjusting for seasonal factors, sales in April appear to be broadly consistent with results of recent months and we remain hopeful that conditions will soon stabilise,” Mr McKellar said.

The automotive industry will continue to promote the opportunities that exist in the next two months for businesses to take advantage of the Federal Government’s enhanced tax break for new vehicle purchases.

“There are signs of increased buyer interest in and awareness of the incentive programme which certainly underpins the need for speedy passage of the legislation,” Mr McKellar said.

Toyota was Australia’s best-selling brand in April with 13,033 vehicles, followed by Holden with 7,829 and Ford with 6,836 vehicle sales.

Toyota has been one of the success stories of the automotive industry for many years now. In fact they haven’t had a net loss in something like 40 years but oh what a loss they have recorded this year.

The figures have just been released and they are HUGE … BLOODY HUGE

The loss is around $US 4.4 billion dollars this year and by next year that will have blown out to more than $US8 billion dollars.

Remember the John Laws ad for Toyota … “Oh what a feeling?”

I wonder how Toyota is feeling now?