V-Facts March 2009

[YOOT]

Originally Posted by HLC

no wonder i keep seeing bloody hilux's everywhere lol

Which is amazing since the cheapest dual cab 4x4 is around $45K on the road.

I want an SR5 but not for damn near $60K on the road with alloy tray. Economic slow down my ****, there are a lot of people with money to burn.

[imugli]

Everyone knows Holden are discounting the hell out of Commodores to clear sitting stock. They'll continue to sell like hotcakes until that stock runs low and Holden start producing on a basis closer to what Ford is now - made to order.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by mik

none of those figures are good for any brand, people have been pinching pennies because of doom and gloom statements, give ot a year see where its at, things should be getting better imo.

I'm sorry but I don't think in a yr we are going to see thing's get any better, but worse, we havn't seen the full effect of this global economic crissis yet, the worse is still yet to come.

[Wally]

Originally Posted by imugli

Everyone knows Holden are discounting the hell out of Commodores to clear sitting stock. They'll continue to sell like hotcakes until that stock runs low and Holden start producing on a basis closer to what Ford is now - made to order.

Had a rep turn up the other day and he asked me how the VE was going. I admitted it was trouble free, wherein he confessed that although he has been a Ford man for several decades, he was off to buy an SS V8. It seems he felt vulnerable with his current Falcon after it kicked in the failsafes when he needed traction and power to get out of an accident scenario. He is also attracted to the V8 cylinder deactivation. So I guess there are a myriad of reasons, real or imagined, why the commodore is outselling the falcon, including a decline in brand loyalty across the board.

[Chopped]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Wow.. ford really missed out on when they pulled out of the luxury limo market....

40 Statesman
138 Caprice
+ an export market

Not huge numbers, maybe a little less than Mondeo !

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by mik

none of those figures are good for any brand, people have been pinching pennies because of doom and gloom statements, give ot a year see where its at, things should be getting better imo.

Actually Hyundai, BMW, Audi and Subaru had sales increases compared to this time last year. VW wasn't far behind with only a -2.7% decrease in sales.

[Kieron]

Heres a story on fleet sales-
http://www.fleetpartners.com.au/medi...e.aspx?id=1865

It's on Feb figures but probably typical of the market in general.
Of interest is the following -

In a sign of the times, sales of locally made six-cylinder vehicles, which comprise about 70% of fleet purchases, declined 23.4% over February and were down 18.8% over the past year.

The FCAI now forecasts total sales for 2009 of just 863,000 vehicles, compared to 1,012,164 sales in 2008, the second highest annual sales on record.
-------

Typically, FalCom sales are circa 70% fleet so it would seem companies are doing the belt tightening and private buyers are downsizing, which we knew anyway. Pity Falcon can't sell in a market that's forecasted to be the second highest.

I've done my bit and bought an FG XR8

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by YOOT

Which is amazing since the cheapest dual cab 4x4 is around $45K on the road.

I want an SR5 but not for damn near $60K on the road with alloy tray. Economic slow down my ****, there are a lot of people with money to burn.

Very true, but they don't own them, their business does. Very good tax benefits for buying a hilux, due to them being a commercial vehicle.

[GT69]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

Very true, but they don't own them, their business does. Very good tax benefits for buying a hilux, due to them being a commercial vehicle.

*cough* an XR6 Turbo is a commercial vehicle *cough*

Infact even an F6 can be, and being commercial you pay less luxury car tax :

I got the XR

[mik]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

I'm sorry but I don't think in a yr we are going to see thing's get any better, but worse, we havn't seen the full effect of this global economic crissis yet, the worse is still yet to come.

its hard to gauge, people may be holding off buying big stuff but the stores and markets seem very busy around our neck of the woods, i guess well have to wait and see.

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by GT69

*cough* an XR6 Turbo is a commercial vehicle *cough*

Infact even an F6 can be, and being commercial you pay less luxury car tax :

I got the XR

Ute or sedan?

[GT69]

Utility

[Gobes32]

The hilux is so successful because the tradie husband buys an SR5 for work purposes and claims all the tax benefits, but really, an SR5 is a luxury car and more likely the wife is driving the kids around in it.......

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

The hilux is so successful because the tradie husband buys an SR5 for work purposes and claims all the tax benefits, but really, an SR5 is a luxury car and more likely the wife is driving the kids around in it.......

Not half wrong there..

But seriously is a Hilux that much better then a Navara or a Ranger?? Probably if you want a V6...

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

Not half wrong there..

But seriously is a Hilux that much better then a Navara or a Ranger?? Probably if you want a V6...

My dream car is a D40 Navara ST-X. I prefer the boxed look of the Navara compared to the curvy ( for a dual cab...) Hilux.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

My dream car is a D40 Navara ST-X. I prefer the boxed look of the Navara compared to the curvy ( for a dual cab...) Hilux.

You need better dreams

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

You need better dreams

That's my practical ( and realistic ) dream, the real dream car is a '68 Monaro.........

Please don't ban me from the forums.............

[csv8]

Nah..get an F650 !!!!

[barbarian]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Does anyone know the split between private & fleet sales? I remembering reading somewhere a few weeks (maybe months) ago that Falcon where strungling to get fleet sales. Might not be such a bad number for Falcon if a large majority where private sales.

I must admit I don’t see many XT models around mostly G series with XR close behind.

I second this notion.. a rough estimate but 70% of the FG i see are either G or XR series which is actually a positive news when you think about it

[RATT]

2009 v 2008
Ford
Ford Escape 145 210
Ford Fairlane 2 14
Ford Falcon 1,990 2,322
Ford Falcon Ute 845 1,291
Ford Fiesta 834 634
Ford Focus 1,458 1,284
Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet 65 107
Ford Mondeo 289 356
Ford Ranger 4X2 503 703
Ford Ranger 4X4 527 729
Ford Territory 763 1,310
Ford Transit 114 198
Ford Transit Bus 11 6
Ford Transit C/C 24 40
Ford Total 7,570 9,206

Holden
Holden Adventra 1 1
Holden Astra 937 1,040
Holden Astra Convertible 40 81
Holden Barina 855 1,150
Holden Caprice 138 166
Holden Captiva 576 898
Holden Colorado 4X2 413 0
Holden Colorado 4X4 911 0 -
Holden Combo 46 88
Holden Commodore 3,544 3,988
Holden Epica 263 319
Holden Monaro 2 3
Holden Rodeo 4X2 25 493
Holden Rodeo 4X4 29 930
Holden Statesman 40 179
Holden Utility 4X2 885 1,345
Holden Utility 4X4 2 0
Holden Viva 481 530
Holden Total 9,188 11,211

[RATT]

Toyota
Toyota Aurion 1,088 2,235
Toyota Avensis 89 97
Toyota Camry (4 cyl) 1,515 2,332
Toyota Coaster 23 27
Toyota Corolla 3,007 3,968
Toyota Hiace Bus 213 257
Toyota Hiace Van 835 937
Toyota Hilux 4X2 1,199 1,557
Toyota Hilux 4X4 2,107 1,972
Toyota Kluger 1,030 1,446
Toyota Landcruiser PU/CC 599 506
Toyota Landcruiser Wagon 666 1,091
Toyota Prado 1,072 1,052
Toyota Prius 217 314
Toyota RAV4 1,024 1,349
Toyota Tarago 183 358
Toyota Yaris 1,741 2,171
Toyota Total 16,608 21,669

[snappy]

Thanks ratt

[snappy]

I cant believe toyota sold that many yaris's . Does anyone test drive a car before buying .
But all in all apart from toyota almost selling more then holden and ford combined .
They have droped a lot of sales since this time last year.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by snappy84

I cant believe toyota sold that many yaris's . Does anyone test drive a car before buying .
But all in all apart from toyota almost selling more then holden and ford combined .
They have dropoed a lot of sales since this time last year.

I have owned several yaris's they are GREAT. They use bugger all petrol, are very easy to drive and park, have heaps of internal space, are cheap to buy and have brilliant resale (the last one I sold I got $12,500 for only cost me $14k, 18 months and 20,000km before) and and most of all I HAVE NEVER HAD A WARRANTY CLAIM EVER.

That is why they sell, most people think about cars the same as they do about fridges and stoves, it is just a gizmo you have and occaisionally use to allow you to get on with the important things in life.....

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by RATT

2009 v 2008
Ford
Ford Fiesta 834 634
Ford Focus 1,458 1,284
Ford Total 7,570 9,206

Holden
Holden Adventra 1 1
Holden Monaro 2 3
Holden Total 9,188 11,211

Well, if it's any consolation, the sales gap has diminished!

On the positive ledger, Fiesta is really taking off and maybe it is dragging customers in who are now also buying Focus!

WTF, Holden still have Adventra's and Monaro's? They've been gone for years! 3 people's 'new' cars are very old!

[snappy]

Originally Posted by flappist

I have owned several yaris's they are GREAT. They use bugger all petrol, are very easy to drive and park, have heaps of internal space, are cheap to buy and have brilliant resale (the last one I sold I got $12,500 for only cost me $14k, 18 months and 20,000km before) and and most of all I HAVE NEVER HAD A WARRANTY CLAIM EVER.

That is why they sell, most people think about cars the same as they do about fridges and stoves, it is just a gizmo you have and occaisionally use to allow you to get on with the important things in life.....

Thats fair enough . But it quite hard to find out if its reliable from a test drive .
I test drove one for my sister the other week it was about 24k . The interior felt like paper mache . The speedo is in the middle of the dash (clearly there for cheaper coversions) . Engine sounds like your squeezing a cat and the thing barely moves with out a lot of throttle applied . Turn a corner that i thought was not to quick and had to stop my head from slamming against the side windows because the car was shaking me like a jack in the box . Auto gearbox was average In comparison to the madza 2 and fiesta it was not in the same class except for value as in bits chucked in . After test driving the yaris i was realived to get in my 88 courier and that says alot.

The rest of what you said was very impressive resale , and no warranty repairs are traits i wish ford could pick up . But that would be all I
I understand that people dont care what they drive some much to them it like buying a tv or fridge . But for me buying a yaris would be like buying a push bike with no seat.

Also to top it off it was voted the gay mans cutest car of the year.

[4.0i_SiX]

There is nothing wrong with the FG falcon and the horrible ads are not to blame either. If you look at those Vfact figures there is a steady lean towards cheaper and more "fuel efficient" cars.

I am also over the "fords are crap and break down all the time" comments I get from people all the time. They're brainwashed by the terribly biased media and bogan dyed in the wool holden fans. I see alot of commodores and falcons come through our workshop. I have easily changed/rebuilt between 7 and 10 commodore v6 engines each year due to cam bearing failures, big end failures etc. I have only ever changed one single EF motor due to it snapping a timing chain ( cheaper and easier to swap it out with a secondhand engine under warranty) Falcons with 150k+ on them will have very little work required for a safety certificate whereas a commodore with less k's will require much more work to bring it up to scratch. Our apprentice wanted a commodore and hated fords when he first started. he will now never own a commodore after seeing what comes through our workshop. He says he will either buy a falcon or a toyota troopy for camping etc. It is all unjustified, false perception brought on mostly by the media

[whynot]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Does anyone know the split between private & fleet sales? I remembering reading somewhere a few weeks (maybe months) ago that Falcon where strungling to get fleet sales. Might not be such a bad number for Falcon if a large majority where private sales.

I must admit I don’t see many XT models around mostly G series with XR close behind.

Joe has hit the nail on the head ...

The fleet market is not buying Falcons for any number of reasons.

1. Most fleet managers (particularly government bodies) now have rather restrictive greenhouse targets they must meet. Ford have only belatedly addressed this issue this month with the Falcon going 5.5 starts and DSC now being available on LPG models. If it is not diesel or has more than four cylinders, it needs a persuasive argument to get a Falcon. (I cannot get my Territory back through work because of its greenhouse gas ratings, period.)

2. Ford’s method of doing fleet discounts is geared towards the big volume sellers. If you have a small fleet (or have a big fleet but are only purchasing a small number of Falcons) the discount on offer is small, which appears counter intuitive if you are trying to build your fleet numbers up. Whereas Toyota gives great fleet discounts for their Camry/Hilux (and the Hilux has four cylinders and diesel boxes to tick as well). When I got my G6E, I may as well gone retail.

3. Resale has a big ouch point to any fleet manager rolling over their stock. Once bitten, twice shy managers would rather get a four cylinder with a known exit price. And, one has to admit, the current crop of four cylinder vehicles is exceptional. Think Mazda 3, Focus, Golf, Impreza et al. Or step up to a Mazda 6, Mondeo, Jetta, Liberty. The only cars that make me shudder are the Corolla and the Camry, the rest is more than reasonable.

4. This only leaves the user choosers in the fleet area to drive the Falcon sales and they are just not interested.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by 4.0i_SiX

I have easily changed/rebuilt between 7 and 10 commodore v6 engines each year due to cam bearing failures, big end failures etc.

Ecotec motor at about 150,000k's??

[Cuey]

Some bright spots from the stats reveal Fiesta beating last year's sales, and Focus getting the nod over the Astra.

In a sinking market - not too bad overall