In an announcement that must have stunned many in the car industry Toyota announced yesterday that it was going to close it’s plants for a total of 11 days in February and March because demand for the Toyota range has dropped considerably.

The good news for Australia is that Toyota won’t be closing it’s Australian plants … even for one day.

Last year Holden announced that it would be selling Commodore utes into the American market as part of the Pontiac G8 programme.

The bad news for Australia is that Pontiac has now axed that idea and while Commodore sedans will be sold under the G8 programme, Commodore utes … or trucks as the Americans like to call them … will now not be exported to the US.

Last weekend the trip took less than 3.5 hours and the traffic could not have been described as heavy at all. So has the increased cost of fuel finally hit the Australian motorist? If it has what can we expect to see in the short-term future for the Aussie motoring industry?

Already we’re seeing Mitsubishi going from bad to worse as their great white hope – the 380 sedan – turns into a great white disappointment. In fact the 380 has been such a poor seller that within a few weeks of the release of the car Mitsubishi reduced the numbers rolling off the production line and then began discounting the car to encourage sales.

Now the South Australian government is propping up the company by ordering over 680 of the model for the Government fleet. More than 500 of those will be delivered by the end of June.

And there is no doubt that Mitsubishi is in dire need of help; sales of their vehicles – including imported models – fell by 10% over the period from May 2005 to May 2006.

A 10% fall in sales is far above the industry as a whole. Sales for the industry as a whole are down 2.8% this year compared to last year with Holden and Ford continuing to fall behind Toyota. To the end of May sales of Toyota vehicles had reached 82,227 compared to 60,792 for Holden and 48,496 for Ford.

American Motor Vehicle Sales

Perhaps the Australian motor vehicle industry will be looking to America for some hint of what’s to come where, despite discounting and other incentives, the US manufacturers continue to fall behind the European and Asian manufacturers.

Comparing figures for May 2005 with May 2006 show that Chrysler’s sales are down 14% and Ford is down 1.9%.

Toyota continues to race ahead of the pack continually posting record sales months and May 2006 was no exception. Other companies with increased sales during May were Volkswagen Hyundai, Mitsubishi (yes in the US Mitsubishi recorded increased sales during May mainly thanks to the Galant), Audi, Mercedes, Mazda, Subaru and BMW.

The only foreign cars to buck the positive trend in the US were Volvo and Mini.

The Mitsubishi Galant – popular with the American motoring public.

Originally Holden claimed the $12,990 price point as their own with the Barina coming in right on the nose with an equipment level that included air.

But from now till the end of December Ford are offering $1000 cash back on the Ford Fiesta and that brings Ford’s small car down to the level of the Barina.

Unfortunately, if you want to ride in airconditioned comfort in a Fiesta it’s going to set you back another $2000.

The $12,990 price for the Fiesta will only hold till the end of December or when stocks run out. A slightly upgraded model is due to hit the showroom floors from January.