1. automotive and vehicles
2. cars

THE VEHICLE DEALER’S NEWS SOURCE
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 10 MAY 2015
Budget tax cuts to benefit
dealers, but no LCT change
E
xecutive director of the Australian
Automotive Dealer Association
(AADA), Ian Field has welcomed
the Federal budget tax deduction for
assets worth $20,000. The Budget
however, did not not scrap the luxury
car tax (LCT) which the automotive industry has been calling to be scrapped
for more than a decade.
The key announcement from treasurer Joe Hockey as part of a number
of tax benefits for small business is
that small businesses will be able to
immediately claim a tax deduction
for assets purchased up to $20,000 in
value.
This means that any small business
owner or a tradie for example will be
able to purchase a new or used vehicle
and claim the $20,000 before the June
30 end of financial year cut off.
Field told AutoTalk that small business, mostly tradies will benefit from
this particular tax deduction on assets
up to $20,000 and says: “In the next
month and a half a lot of utes and
commercial vans will be bought. It’s
a great outcome which we didn’t see
coming.”
Field also noted that the luxury car
tax (LCT) not being scrapped in the
budget wouldn’t make any difference
to the marketplace. In Field’s view:
“If it is truly meant to be a LCT, then
it should be moved to where luxury
cars really start and that is north of
$100,000.
“You can’t sell a car at $54,000 plus
GST and consider that car a luxury item
Ian Field
– there are plenty of utes and commercial vehicles sold at that price and you
have to pay the LCT on them,” he adds.
“Essentially a car that costs over
$54,000 before GST, for which you
need to pay the LCT, is hardly a luxury
level in motor vehicles. It’s just another
way of creating an increased sales tax
on vehicles over a certain price.
Its should not be named a luxury car
tax, it’s a tax on buying cars once you
get over a particular price,” Field told
AutoTalk.
Excluding new taxes, axing the LCT
would make expensive vehicles far
more affordable – something for which
luxury vehicle brands such as Mercedes
Benz, and some not considered to be
‘luxury brands’, such as Toyota, have
INSIDE
Dealership benchmarks revealed
$11m dealership for Gladstone
Different views on imports
Hacking cars too easy? 3
5
7
13
7
13
lobbied for some time.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has been lobbying
the government to scrap the LCT for
some time too. FCAI chief executive,
Tony Weber supported the Productivity Commission’s report last year that
the LCT be removed.
“Taxes and other government
charges make up around 20% of the
price of new cars in Australia. Fixing
those tax arrangements, including the
poorly-designed LCT, is a better and
more targeted way of addressing car
affordability than a change that will
only ultimately hurt consumers,” Weber noted last month.
The 2014 PC report noted that the
33% LCT, which from July 1 2015, applies to the component of a vehicle’s
price up to $61,884 (or $75,375 if they
consume less than 7.0L/100km), accounted for around $400 million in
revenue for the government but “was
arbitrary in its effect”.
Continued on page 2
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SPONSORS
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BUDGET TAX CUTS
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BUT NO LCT CHANGE
Continued from page 1
When it was introduced,
LCT was intended to apply
to high-priced cars from
Europe, but today Toyota
customers pay more in LCT
than do buyers of Audi,
BMW, Mercedes-Benz or
Porsche.
Under the new regime,
the LCT not only applies to
accessories and the delivery
fee, but also is now applied to any factory bonus
or incentive discount to the
dealer as well.
VACC also welcomed
treasurer Joe Hockey’s support for small business, but
also criticised the fact that
the LCT was not scrapped
as part of key tax cuts announced in the budget.
The treasurer announced
a series of tax incentives to
assist small business and tax
measures to improve Victoria’s GST revenue. However,
VACC’s pre-Budget call to
the treasurer to remove
the LCT was overlooked, a
measure which in VACC’s
view would improve new
vehicle affordability.
Hockey also announced
that companies with up to
$2 million turnover will receive a lower company tax
rate reduced from 30% to
28.5%, while unincorporated businesses will receive
a 5% tax deduction of up to
$1000.
VACC, however, notes
that it would have liked the
treasurer to provide more
details on the proposal to introduce GST on online purchases, an issue VACC’s retail
members would welcome,
due to the fact that many of
the members miss out, as
buyers source their advice,
but purchase online from
2 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
overseas, and avoid GST. “As the treasurer promised, this was a budget for
small businesses who want
to innovate and grow. VACC
members provide valuable
services for the community
and industry and they welcome this support,” VACC
executive director, Geoff
Gwilym says.
Luxury Car Tax concession
not enough
In a small concession,
the government will allow
museums to acquire cars for
public display to be exempt
from the tax on luxury cars.
VACC notes: “We are disappointed, but not surprised,
that the focus on LCT
stopped there.” “Ditching the LCT is
particularly relevant at a time
when the government is
considering the deregulation
of new car imports in the
name of improving vehicle
affordability. We urge the
government to reconsider
relaxing current new car
import restrictions and for
it to realise that cutting the
LCT will do the very thing it
is trying to achieve, and that
is make new vehicles more
affordable for Australians,”
Gwilym says. The AADA noted in March
this year: “A number of
inherent flaws in the LCT’s
policy structure have created complicated and unfair
operating conditions for new
car dealers in Australia.
“For example, the tax’s
discriminatory nature has
been a particular pain point
for the industry. The LCT
does not apply to other luxury goods such as yachts,
jewellery, watches, private
aircraft and artwork.”
NEWSTALK
AutoTalk Magazine and
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2015 Deloitte motor
industry services dealership
benchmarks results revealed
BY MAX PICHON
JOURNALIST
Max Pichon
+61 403 932 864
[email protected]
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autotalk.com.au
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carandsuv.co.nz CAR & SUV
T
he 2015 Deloitte Motor Industry Services’
‘dealership benchmarks’ for the Australian car
market has been announced
which shows some key
statistics on the top 30% of
dealers in Australia. The survey reveals that Customer
relationship management
(CRM) remains a key area of
influence on dealerships.
Benchmarks are split into
three market categories: the
Volume market, the Prestige market and the Luxury
market. This segmentation
reflects the different dealer
business models used to
operate and generate a profit
at the dealership level, making the benchmarks relevant
for all.
Interestingly, 2014 was
a year that challenged the
business models typically
characterising each segment with shifts in market
volumes and grosses impacting on dealer profitability. It should be noted
that while the business
models in each segment
are intrinsically impacted
by the brands that dealers
carry, the benchmarks are
not a commentary on the
positioning or esteem of
those brands.
Data uploaded to the
eProfitFocus system of more
than 850 dealers in the
Australian market for the 12
months leading up to the
benchmark period is taken
into consideration. The performances of the top 30%
of dealers are isolated and
taken as the reference point
for the benchmarks. This
raw data is then adjusted
to reflect contemporary
industry and market circumstances, as well as long-held
best practices.
CRM benchmarks
These CRM benchmarks
are a measure of ‘Best
Practices’ as identified in the
Australian motor industry.
The figures represent the
benchmark of what dealers
need to aim for when implementing successful CRM
operations.
When it comes to
generating leads, the largest amount are achieved
through the dealership website (31%) for new cars and
(10%) for used cars. Phone
ins (website phone number)
is second with new cars
(21%) and used cars (5%) followed by walk-ins (website
solicited) for new cars (25%)
and 7% for used cars.
The biggest change is
seen for online lead providers with new cars with 12%
while used cars with 70% of
their leads. Phone-ins and
walk-ins from traditional
media led to only 6% of
leads for new cars and 5%
for used cars.
Marketing and advertising costs are the same
for volume and prestige
benchmark dealers at $238
per new car, while luxury
dealers spend $400 per new
car. Average dealers in the
volume and prestige sectors
spent slightly more $240
and $243, while luxury dealers spent $345.
CRM and sales
How effective is your sales
team at converting new market leads, referrals and repeat
customers into sales?
The benchmark survey
calculated the sales efficiency for top staff and average
sales staff in terms of conversion ratios and found that
of 100% of total leads/enquiries top staff convert appointments in 92% of cases
while average staff convert
them 70% of the time.
Test drives show that
73% of top staff convert
leads into test drives while
average staff convert 45%
of leads into test drives.
When it comes to offers,
top staff convert them in
58% of cases, while average
staff convert them in 33%
of cases.
Finally, sales are converted in 35% of cases for
top staff, compared to 22%
for average staff, and F&I
contracts conversions are
15% for top staff compared
to 6% of average staff.
CRM and service
The survey asked, Once
acquired, how do you retain
customers in service?
The benchmark study has
found that when comparing
metro and rural retention
rates for handover/followup service, the retention rate
for rural dealers is higher in
the first year at 93%, while
for metro dealers it’s at 91%.
In the 2nd year it drops to
87% for rural compared to
82% for metro, for the third
year rural rates drop to 77%,
while metro drops to 68%,
and in year four rural drops
to 58% compared to 49%
for metro dealers, Finally in
the fifth year retention rates
reach 49% for rural while
metro dealers reach 40%.
Continued on page 4
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 3
NEWSTALK
2015 Deloitte motor industry services
dealership benchmarks results revealed
Continued from page 3
The big 4 CRM measures
1. Customer orientation
The survey stats show
that metro dealers get more
conquest customers (unsolicited) at 62% compared
to 48% for rural dealers,
however, rural dealers have
a higher rate of referral customers with 22% compared
to 13% for metro customers.
Rural dealers also get more
repeat customers with 30%
compared to 25% at metro
dealers.
2. Customer profitability
New vehicle customer
profitability as a % of conquest business at the national level shows that conquest
customers (unsolicited)
breaks even at 100%, while
referral customers reach
142%, and repeat customers
are at 193%.
3. Dealership advocacy
The dealership’s ability
to create advocate customers at the national level
shows that dealers achieve
this mainly through positive
word of mouth at 80%, while
indifferent customers take
up 18%, and negative word
of mouth is only 2%.
4. Customers’ perception
of effort in dealing with
dealership
At the national level
customers who perceive
‘low levels’ of effort totaled
a high number of 82%, this
remains a worrying trend for
dealerships and one which
dealers will need to address in order to change the
public’s perception of car
dealers.
Additionally, customers
who perceive ‘neutral levels’
of dealer effort total 11%,
and customers who perceive
‘high levels’ of effort reached
only 7%.
1. Volume dealer market
benchmarks
Dealers who fall into the
volume market classification
tend to be dealers focusing
on the volume side of the
volume/margin equation.
The benchmark study
reveals that it takes a volume
dealer on average 24 says
in the month to break-even
and to generate net profit.
The current dealer structure for a volume dealer
consists of new cars (36%),
used cars (18%), parts (13%),
and service (33%). Front end
(vehicle operations) make
up 54% of a dealership and
back end (fixed operations)
make up 46% of dealership
structure.
In terms of staff profitability, gross per employee
per month is $10,800, while
net profit per employee per
month is $2700.
Vehicle operations
Vehicle operations for
new and used volume dealers reveal that gross profit
per unit sold is $2700 for
new car dealers and $2600
for used volume dealers. Days supply for new
car dealers is 55–65 days,
compared to 65–75 for used
dealers.
Stock turns p.a. are 6–7
for new versus 5–6 for used
car dealers. Finally, gross
ROI as a % of cost of sales x
stock is 65% for new versus
95% for used car volume
dealers.
Finance and insurance (F&I)
Finance penetration
totaled 35–39% for new
cars while used car dealers
totaled 33–37% – finance
income per contract totals
$2300–$2500 for new versus $2600–$2800 for used
car dealers.
4 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
Finance per retail unit
sold is $890 for new volume
dealers, versus $945 for
used cars, and insurance per
retail unit sold is $200 for
new versus $250 for used
car dealers. F&I selling gross
per vehicle retailed is $1020.
Fixed operations
The benchmark study reveals the sales mix for a volume dealership’s operations
with retail/counter taking up
5%, wholesale/trade 24%,
workshop 28%, warranty
18%, and internal taking up
25% of the sales mix.
Operational benchmarks
The survey also reveals
that a volume dealer’s days’
supply is between 45–55,
stock turns p.a. at 7–8,
monthly sales per employee
totaling $70,300, while
monthly gross per employee
is $16,900.
2. Prestige dealer market
benchmarks
Dealers who fall into the
prestige market classification
tend to be dealers focusing
on finding a balance in the
volume/margin equation.
The dealership benchmark survey finds that a
prestige dealer like the volume dealer takes 24 days to
break even and makes a net
profit as% of sales of 3.7–4%.
The make up of prestige
dealer is new cars (39%),
used (14%), parts (13%), and
service (34%). In addition,
front end (vehicle operations) make up 53%, while
back end (fixed operations)
make up 47% of the dealer.
Finance and insurance
income takes up 23% of total
gross, and ‘other’ income
and incentives take up 12%
of total gross profit.
Gross profit per employee
per month totals $11,200,
and net profit per employee
per month is $3100 at a
prestige dealer.
Vehicle operations
A prestige dealer makes
gross per unit of $2800 for
every new car sold versus
$2500 for used cars. Meanwhile, days supply is 55–65
for new versus 60–70 for
used dealers. Stock turns
p.a. totals 6–7 for new car
versus 5–6 for used.
Gross ROI as a % of cost
of sales x stock turns p.a.
is 65% for new versus 90%
for used car. In addition,
units per salesperson sold
per month reach 14 for new
versus 13 for used car, and
gross per salesperson per
month is $39,200 for each
new car sold versus $32,500
for used car prestige dealers.
Finance and insurance (F&I)
Finance penetration for
the prestige dealer market
totaled 32–36% for new
cars versus 31–35% for used
cars, while finance income per contract reached
$2500–2700 for new cars,
which was the same for
used cars.
Finance per retail unit
sold is $885 in new cars versus $860 for used cars, and
insurance per retail unit sold
is $180 in new cars versus
$200 in used cars.
Vehicles retailed per F&I
staff/mth reached between
50–60, while salaries and
commissions as a % of
income totalled 20%. Finally,
F&I income per dept employee/mth was $64,200.
Fixed operations
The prestige dealer parts
department sales mix is split
between the wholesale/
trade department and the
Continued on page 5
NEWSTALK
Reef City Motors to
build $11M superstore
R
eef City Motors is spending $11
million to build a car superstore
in Gladstone, bringing construction and extra dealership staff jobs to
the town. Once completed it will house
the largest display of car brands in
Gladstone.
Although some business has been
dismal since the downturn, local dealerships have been going through renovations and expansions, during what they
say is the best time to prepare for the
next growth stage.
“Reef City Motors has outgrown its
Toolooa St premises,” principal dealer
and co-owner Chris Zagami says.
On top of the current seven brands
sold at the dealership, the dealership
aims to add another three by the time
the 20,000sq mt superstore opens in
November.
“Gladstone’s always been a growth
region and whilst it’s not at the moment, in the medium to long-term
outlook it will grow at a rapid pace,”
Zagami told the Daily Mercury.
“We’re going well now and so we will
establish ourselves now for the future.”
Zagami said he was trying to help create
a “motor-vehicle destination”.
“The key element is a main road front
and while it’s not Hanson or Dawson
Hwy, it’s significant for passing traffic travelling between the port and
residential areas,” Zagami told the Daily
Mercury.
The business will employ a technician and apprentice for each brand,
with an estimated 10 extra permanent
staff coming onto the books with the
expansion.
Reef City Motors, located 550 km
north of Brisbane, has been running for
more than 25 years. Zagami has copartnered in its ownership since 2007.
2015 Deloitte motor industry services
dealership benchmarks results revealed
Continued from page 4
internal department with
23%, while the workshop
department takes up 32%.
The warranty department
takes up 17% of sales and
retail/counter takes up 5%
of the sales mix.
Operational benchmarks
Average days supply for
a prestige dealer is 55–65
days and stock turns p.a.
total 6–7. Monthly sales per
employee totals $87,000
and monthly gross per employee is $20,900. Finally,
sales per salary is $19 on
average.
3. Luxury dealer market
benchmarks
Dealers who fall into the
luxury market classification
tend to be dealers focusing
on finding a balance in the
volume/margin equation.
Net profit as % of sales
for a luxury dealer is
3.8–4.1%, while the amount
of days for a luxury dealer-
ship to break even are 23,
based on a full month.
A luxury dealership
structure is broken up into
new cars (44% ), used cars
(11%), parts (13%), and
service (32%). Front end
(vehicle operations) represent 55% of a luxury dealer
while back end (fixed
operations) total 45%.
Finance and insurance
income totals 19% of total
gross, while ‘other’ income represents 10% of
total gross. Gross profit
per employee per month is
$12,000, and net profit per
employee per month totals
$3400.
Vehicle operations
A luxury dealer makes
gross profit per unit of
$4700 for new cars versus
$2700 for used cars. Days
supply are between 60–70
for new cars, and also
60–70 for used cars, while
stock turns p.a. are 5–6 for
new cars and also 5–6 for
used cars.
Gross ROI as a % of cost
of sales x stock turns p.a is
70% for new cars and 80%
for used cars. Additionally,
units per salesperson per
month total 11 for new versus 12 for used cars. Gross
per salesperson per month
for a luxury car dealer are
$51,700 for new cars and
$32,400 for a used car.
Finance and insurance (F&I)
Luxury dealers in 2014
saw finance penetration of
33–37% for new cars versus
32–36% for old cars, but finance income per contract
totaled $2200–$2400 for
new versus $2250–$2450
for used cars.
Finance per retail unit
sold was $805 for new and
$800 for used cars, while
insurance per retail unit
sold totaled $180 versus
$200 for used cars.
Vehicles retailed per F&I
staff/mth reached between
50–60, while salaries and
commissions as a % of
income totaled 20%. F&I income per dept employee/
mth reached $59,800.
Fixed operations
The luxury dealer parts
department sales mix is
split between the wholesale/trade department and
the warranty department
with 22% each, while the
workshop department
takes up 37%. The internal
department takes up 15%
of sales and retail/counter
takes up 4% of the sales
mix.
Operational benchmarks
On average, days supply
for a luxury dealer is 50–
60, while stock turns p.a.
are 6–7. Monthly sales per
employee total $87,000,
while monthly gross
per employee reached
$20,900.
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 5
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PEOPLETALK
NEWSTALK
One topic, two different
views: Parallel imports
Changing new and used car
import laws filled with risk:
BDO Automotive
An expert in the automotive sector believes that the
Australian Government’s
proposal to allow new and
used car imports is nonsensical from the consumer
point of view mainly due to
how competitive the automotive market already is.
But a new vehicle importer
thinks that the government’s
proposed changes should be
welcomed by the higher end
car brands as it would attract
more work for their repair
and servicing sections.
BDO Automotive partner,
Mark Ward, told AutoTalk:
“New and used car dealers
will be adversely affected
if the relaxation of import
regulations was to proceed,
but more importantly it will
be the consumer who will
be exposed to all number
of risks. Why would the
government put both the
industry and the public at
risk for what will be a negligible benefit, if any.”
The government’s
proposed changes would
allow private car buyers to
import new or used cars
directly from overseas sellers, however the Federal
Government has indicated it
is unlikely to take the same
approach with used cars.
“Australian consumers
already have the benefit of
a very highly competitive
market, with greater than
60 brands available at prices
comparable to other developed countries, according to
price comparison research
conducted by the Federal
Chamber of Automotive In-
dustries. I don’t understand
the motivation for a change,”
Ward told AutoTalk.
The other key issue for
Ward is, how consumers
will benefit when it comes
to new car warranties, fixed
price servicing arrangements and product safety recalls.
Ward notes:
“How can the
Government
guarantee safety
with respect to
imported vehicles
which presumably
will not be subject
Mark Ward
to manufacturer
safety recalls and the fixed
process servicing arrangements which are already a
feature of many new brands
sold through the dealer
network.”
“Are the imported vehicles
fit for purpose? How are
the public protected from
unscrupulous individuals
looking to take advantage of
relaxed rules? These are just
some of the questions for
government.”
Lower profits for new
car dealers, and used car
dealers to be impacted
In regard to the motor
dealers themselves, Ward
questions why the government would contemplate
the risk that any relaxation
might have on jobs and
financial returns.
“Often overlooked is the
fact that Australian dealers employ approximately
68,000 people, have a
significant investment in
facilities and training, and
make a significant contribution to their local com-
munities. Despite all of that,
motor dealers operate on
a financial return which is
both diminishing and barely
acceptable relative to the
risk of operating those businesses.”
Ward’s strong view is that
any deregulation
of import laws
will not provide
any upside to any
of the stakeholders, including the
government, and
to that extent, why
would any relaxation be contemplated.
“The government is very
mistaken if they believe that
any relaxation will enhance
competition for the benefit
of the consumer, they simply
need to make themselves
aware of the facts”.
Ultimately Ward suggests
that what the auto sector might get is a scenario
where people who would
usually buy a used car locally will instead buy a new
car from overseas.
Ward also thinks that
there is more clarification
needed about what constitutes a new car. “Minister
Jaime Briggs considers a
new car is one that is less
than 4000kms and less than
12 months old, but really if a
car has even 1000kms, then
it’s a used car already,” he
told AutoTalk.
Ward notes that new car
sales are at the best level in
years but that it has come
at the expense of profit. “We
have overall these car brands
all looking to get a reasonable or improved market
share – volume comes at
the expense of profit. We are
seeing increasing new car
sales and it’s a leading economic indicator, but other
economic indicators are going backwards,” he says.
In Ward’s view the majority of the industry is against
the relaxation of car regulations. “There is a minority
who are operating a used
car yard and who import
cars. But they don’t have
to deal with the high level
of standards and rules that
franchise dealerships are
currently subjected to.”
When AutoTalk asks what
the overall feeling is coming
from car dealerships on the
import issue, Ward notes:
“Dealers are not overly
concerned for themselves,
because they know the cars
they are selling now are very
competitive when it comes
to price. Where they are
concerned is when it comes
to new and used imported
car owners demanding that
local dealers offer the same
conditions that they offer
local buyers.”
“For example, if someone
buys a Toyota from Japan,
that consumer could have
an expectation that dealer
will honour the warranty,
fixed price servicing, handle
recalls, but local dealers
won’t be able to do that
and that will reflect badly
on dealerships. Customers
will have the notion that the
local dealer network will
look after their car and that
won’t be the case.”
“We are going to see
more consolidation in the
industry with bigger dealers
taking over smaller dealers.
Continued on page 8
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 7
NEWSTALK
Continued from page 7
In effect it is the smaller and
regional dealers struggling
to remain viable because
they just don’t have the
volumes and the throughput
to support a whole organisation. You are seeing a lot
more consolidation in the
last 6-12 months in the industry and that will continue
to be so,” he concludes.
Vehicle import changes will
be for the better, but tax
will be key barrier: Importer
Shogun Conversions
logistics and engineering
manager, Herman Urriola,
spoke to AutoTalk on his
view on the new car imports
debate which would see the
SEVS be revamped in order
to allow more choices for
car importers and private
buyers but cautions that tax
regulation will play a key role
in how successful or not the
scheme is.
Urriola also thinks that
consumers will benefit if
the government frees up
imports of second-hand
vehicles, while introducing
new changes to the Australian Design Rule (ADR)
regulations.
As the Australian government prepares to release
a regulatory impact state-
NEWSTALK
ment into changes to the
cheaper vehicles have also
Motor Vehicle Standards
been supported by the ProAct, specialist car importers
ductivity Commission in its
are hoping the government
review of the act last year,
will resist pressure from
as-well as from the Australthe automotive industry –
ian Automobile Association,
represented by the Federal
and the Australian CompeChamber of Automotive
tition & Consumer CommisIndustries – and relax
sion.
regulations on new and used
If the changes were to
vehicles entering Australia.
be greenlit then it would
Shogun Conversions one
increase the volume of
of the country’s biggest sellused vehicles from righters, converters and importhand-drive markets, and this
ers of American
would stimulate
muscle cars into
competition,
Australia. On aversomething that
age they import
would be ‘a boom
around 500 cars
for business’, acper year, which
cording to Urriola.
include, Corvettes,
He notes:
Dodge Rams, Ford
“RAWS is lookMustangs and
ing at modified
Chevrolet Camaand or more
Herman Urriola
ros, F250s, GMCs,
relaxed SEVS
Silverados and Tundr’s.
entry list. The government
They are also one of the
will open SEVS up and aloldest accredited members
low some sort of parallel
of the Registered Automoimport for cars up to five
tive Workshop Scheme
years old with a restriction
(RAWS).
on kilometres to keep the
According to Urriola, the
Australian fleet new. There’s
government would most
not going to be an open
likely move to allow imports
slather approach – it will
of vehicles up to five years
be funnelled through the
old for models not imported
RAWS system so new and
new by the original manuused car importers will still
facturer.
need to achieve some sort
Changes to the act to
of compliance.”
allow consumers access to
Urriola notes that de-
8 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
regulating the system will
be a positive move by the
government as customers would be free to buy
cheaper second-hand cars
and a greater variety of new
models. In regards to the
OEM manufacturers he has a
different view: “High volume
importers are going to suffer
a lot with the new changes,
but that isn’t a bad thing.”
Urriola also reveals to
AutoTalk that at the last
meeting between RAWS,
industry organisations and
assistant minister for infrastructure Jaime Briggs in
Canberra, it was suggested
that car manufacturers
should cover warranties and
recalls worldwide. In this
regard Urriola says: “I don’t
think that OEM’s will be in a
position to knock back work
for warranty and/or service
repair recall.
“Recently we have seem
Cummins starting to do
repair work on new Dodge
Rams as a service, because
they realise it’s a big market – if they don’t service
them someone else will. It
just would not make sense
business-wise for some of
the high end luxury brands
such as Ferrari, Mercedes or
Porsche to knock back serContinued on page 9
NEWSTALK
ONE TOPIC, TWO DIFFERENT VIEWS:
PARALLEL IMPORTS
Continued from page 8
vice and repairs on new cars
being imported,” he adds.
For Urriola, the amount of
taxes paid and how they are
regulated will be the biggest
hurdle for the industry.
“It all comes back to
the amount of taxes being
imposed on low volume importers. The luxury car tax
(LCT) is a ridiculous tax and
should be axed,” he says.
“We currently offer C7 Corvette’s for which we need
to charge locally $220,000
but the price of that same
car in the US is US$70,000
(A$100,000).
“We charge $45,000 for
conversion and compliance,
that’s roughly 1500 hours
of labour. We may end up
with a gross profit of $5000
to $7000, on a $70,000
USD vehicle while the ATO
pulls in $70,000 AUD in
taxes – 5% duty ($7500),
GST ($15,800) LCT overall is
$37,500, and a further stamp
duty of $9650.
“If the LCT and other
taxes were null and void we
would be selling the C7 Corvette for around $180,000
as opposed to the current
$220,000 – more people
would buy it,” Urriola notes.
But if you do the same
sums on the Z06 corvette,
car cost $110,000 USD, duty
and GST work out to $30k,
LCT ends up at $55k, Stamp
duty $13k, ends up pushing the drive away figure to
$295k, an overall gain to the
ATO of $100k, so as it turns
out you pay just as much in
taxes as you do for the car in
whichever scenario.”
Urriola’s advice for used
car import private buyers
and businesses is that the
change that he thinks will
be for the best both for the
importer and for the average
Jo Blow who wants to buy
a second hand Maserati, as
long as it’s fairly new.
“The changes will be in
the right direction, but won’t
be the free-for-all that the
government has stated. Cars
will still need to meet ADRs’.
ADR’s will be brought in line
to mimic some of the other
alternate standards such as
FMVSS, EEC, ECE etc. It will
make it easier for the ADR’s
to be compliant against
vehicles manufactured with
other known international
standards.”
In regards to the FCAI and
the MTA who have called on
the government to scrap any
deregulation of new and car
imports Urriola notes: “They
are only protecting industries they are affiliated with,
and those new car importers
that have been doing very
well for the last few years,
they will have more competition”.
In Urriola’s view “there is
no local market to protect
anymore.”
“If Jo Blo or a small dealer can do a better job than
Ferrari can when it comes
to producing and importing
a car - and as long as they
abide by taxes and don’t
commit tax fraud - then I
don’t see why the government wouldn’t deregulate
the market. If they police the
little guys as much as they
do the big guys then the
industry is safe,” he concludes.
March proves a winner for carsales
A
ustralia’s leading automotive
classified site carsales.com.au
continued to build on its position as the most preferred brand for
Australian new and used car buyers in
March, delivering record unique audience figure of 1.39 million visitors.
March saw carsales’ unique
audience jump to a new record,
increasing 22.6% on February, and
2.9% since the same time last year, to
1.39 million. This puts carsales 157%
ahead of fourth-placed CarsGuide,
and well ahead of both Drive and
Gumtree Automotive. Total monthly
visits to carsales topped 13 million.
The average session times in the
last quarter for carsales remain the
highest in the automotive classifieds
market at 5.12 minutes, ahead of eBay
subsidiary Gumtree Automotive, Drive
and CarsGuide. Carsales’ average time
on site per person remains strong at
one hour ten minutes compared to
CarsGuide’s ten minutes and Drive’s
14 minutes.
Commenting on March’s strong
numbers, carsales chief executive
Greg Roebuck says: “We continue to
focus on the customer and give them
what they want. We not only give
them access to the most cars available, but more importantly, consumers understand that the site works
for them whether they are buying or
selling. We sell a car every minute
and customers know that the site is
the one to turn to for results.”
The latest audience results build
on recent research that shows for car
buyers, carsales is the most preferred
brand for buying a new or used car,
12 times more than CarsGuide, 7
times more than Drive and 5 times
more than Gumtree.
In terms of researching new and
used cars, 30% of those intending
to buy a car prefer to use carsales to
research and read about cars, 24%
prefer car manufacturer sites, 9%
prefer Drive, 5% prefer CarsGuide,
3% prefer Gumtree and 0.8% prefer
Car Advice.
“A total of 71% of the carsales
audience is not on our closest
competitor, indicating that all of our
continued investment in our solutions continues to work and improve
the user experience and journey,”
Roebuck adds.
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 9
Max Pichon
NEWSTALK
AUSSIE TALK
nior
AutoTalk’s se
ax
M
t
journalis
back
Pichon looks
’s
th
on
m
st
on la
rvice
daily news se
lian
for the Austra
er
al
de
vehicle
industry.
April 1
Eclipx Group to go
live on ASX after
$254M IPO
Fleet management and vehicle leasing specialist, Eclipx
Group, is preparing to make
its debut on the Australian Securities Exchange next month
after attracting strong investor
demand during its institutional
bookbuild for the $518 million
soon-to-be-listed company.
Eclipx supplies, finances
and manages vehicles on behalf of corporate customers
and consumers in Australia,
and corporate and SME customers in New Zealand.
Eclipx lodged its prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commision (ASIC) for its $254 million
initial public offering (IPO)
on March 26, 2015. Eclipx is
expected to list on the ASX on
April 22, 2015.
Hyundai unveils
Australia’s first
hydrogen-powered
car
Australia’s first hydrogen
powered car, the Hyundai ix35
fuel cell, has been unveiled
today by Federal industry and
science minister, Ian Macfarlane. The minister also officially opened Australia’s only
hydrogen vehicle refueling
station.
The Hyundai ix35 fuel cell,
hydrogen-powered, zeroemissions fuel cell electric
vehicle (FCEV), built in Ulsan,
South Korea, arrived in
Australia in June 2014. It is
the first hydrogen-powered
car to be permanently based
in Australia and it has been
DIARY
undergoing operational trials
in the lead up to today’s announcement.
New car buying
intender numbers
on upward curve
The number of potential
new car buyers in Australia
continues to rise, with the latest figures from Roy Morgan
Research revealing that 2.37
million people are planning to
buy a new car in the next four
years, an additional 129,000
units since last month, and up
on the same time last year.
Short term intention has
also risen. Motorists intending to buy a new car in the
next 12 months now number
598,000 – an increase from
537,000 last month and
slightly more than the same
time last year.
April 2
Harper Review rules
in favour of used and
parallel imports
The Competition Policy
Review – led by emeritus
professor Ian Harper – has
recommended that restrictions on used and parallel
imports be relaxed in favour
of giving consumers choice,
in its final report on Australia’s
competition rules, the first of
its kind in 20 years.
The review found that
restrictions should be immediately removed, making
it easier for individuals or
retailers to import certain
products without needing
to go through an authorised
distributor or IP owner. This
would see a dramatic drop
in the price of some goods,
including second-hand cars.
10 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
AHG makes $5M
acquisition of two
dealerships
Automotive Holdings Group
(AHG) has bought the Paceway Mitsubishi dealership at
Osborne Park, along with a
Brisbane dealership, for a total
of $5 million.
Managing director
Bronte Howson describes
the acquisitions as further
opportunities to grow the
group’s portfolio of brands
in Queensland, while further
strengthening its dominant
position in WA.
“The Brisbane acquisition
increases our Queensland
dealership portfolio and is
located close to our existing Aspley retail automotive
hub, which houses Holden,
HSV, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and
Suzuki dealerships,” Howson
told the West Australian.
April 8
Jaguar Land
Rover dealerships
recognised
Jaguar Land Rover dealerships were honoured when
Matthew Wiesner, managing
director of Jaguar Land Rover
Australia, presented the 2014
Jaguar and 2014 Land Rover
‘dealer of the year’ awards.
Wiesner comments
about the winners: “The
dealers awarded are exemplary Jaguar and Land Rover
dealers who have consistently achieved outstanding
results in all key areas. We
are delighted to have them as
our business partners as we
continue to grow the Jaguar
and Land Rover businesses in
Australia.”
International truck
returns to Australia
Navistar Auspac has announced that the International truck brand will make
its return to the Australian
market in 2015. Product plans,
distribution details and other
specific announcements will
be made at the Brisbane Truck
Show, May 14-17, 2015.
“Bringing International
back to the Australian market
is a key part of our growth
goals for Australia, and demonstrates our commitment to
this important market,” says
Tim Quinlan, Navistar Auspac
managing director.
Toyota announces
5-star awards for
dealerships
Toyota Australia has acknowledged its top performing
dealerships by announcing
its coveted 5-Star awards for
guest experience.
A total of 19 dealerships
each for Queensland and
New South Wales have been
recognised, South Australia
had 11 recognitions. Victoria
had the most recognitions
with 27 dealers, Tasmania
had 2, ACT 1, and Western
Australia had 9 dealerships
recognised.
Toyota certified used
vehicles scheme hits
10,000 mark
Toyota’s ‘certified used
vehicles’ program has gone
from strength to strength
with 10,000 buyers having
now bought cars – backed
by Toyota – after the vehicles
have passed inspection and
background checks.
Janine Wiles of Forest
Lake in Queensland became
the Toyota ‘certified used
vehicles’ program’s 10,000th
buyer when she purchased
a 2012 RAV4 Cruiser from
Mackay Toyota.
Nissan to slash
marketing
investment and
focus on ‘digital
users’
Nissan is planning to slash its
global marketing investment
by half through a digital transformation strategy.
The Japanese automotive
brand has deployed Adobe
Marketing Cloud across the
Nissan-Renault Alliance, including its Nissan, Infiniti and
Datsun brands, to deliver a
consistent customer experiContinued on page 11
NEWSTALK
Continued from page 10
ence and brand globally.
The brand aims to “optimise cost efficiency through
data analytics and asset
management while sustaining
brand image”.
April 9
ACCC greenlight’s
VQIRT lease to
operate automotive
terminal
The Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will not oppose
the proposed acquisition by
Victoria Quay International
RoRo Terminal (VQIRT) of a
long-term lease to develop
and operate the automotive
and RoRo terminal at the Port
of Fremantle, after accepting a
court-enforceable undertaking.
The undertaking seeks to
address the ACCC’s competition concerns should VQIRT
be successful in its bid.
Following an ‘expression
of interest’ (EOI) from parties
interested in developing and
operating a dedicated automotive and Ro-Ro terminal
under a long-term lease on
Victoria Quay, Victoria Quay
International RoRo Terminal
and AAT have been shortlisted
to proceed to the ‘request for
proposal’ phase, which closes
on April 24, 2015.​
Tesla introduces
Model S 70D for
$102K
The latest Model S fromTesla
has been unveiled today and
will be powered by an allwheel drive (AWD) dual motor
which will offer 0-100 km/h
acceleration in 5.4 secs, and a
225 km/h top speed​.
Starting at $102,400 RRP
plus luxury car tax, on-road
costs and stamp duty, Model
S 70D includes dual motor
AWD technology, a NEDCrated 440 km of range, and
automatic keyless entry​
among other features.
April 10
EAI awarded
rights to Maserati
distribution in South
Africa
Australia-based European Automotive Imports (EAI), owned
by New Zealand businessman
Neville Crichton, has received
the rights to distribute the
products and services of
Maserati in South Africa from 1
May 2015.
“We are delighted to be
able to announce the appointment of EAI to handle
Maserati in South Africa,”
says Umberto Cini, managing
director of Maserati general
overseas markets.
April 13
New look Nissan
Micra on sale for
under $20K
Nissan will unveil its new-look
2015 Nissan Micra, later this
month at dealerships which
will be go on sale at a drive-
away price of 15,735 for the ST
manual.
The facelift brings Nissan’s
‘V-Motion’ front grille to the
Micra along with new bonnet, guards, headlights and
wheels. Inside the Micra, a
new centre cluster, instrumentation and seat trim are
among the changes.
The sportier look also
brings changes in specification, with Micra now available
in two grades, ST and Ti. The
Micra ST-L grade has been removed to simplify the range.
April 14
Hyundai iCare
program recognised
with Innovation
Excellence award
Hyundai’s iCare customer care
program has won a Canstar
Blue Award for Innovation
Excellence.
It is the first time the
consumer-focused Canstar
Blue Awards have included
awards for Innovation Excellence in the Automotive
category. Hyundai’s iCare
was the only customer care
program awarded in the new
category.
VACC targets
quality training and
apprenticeships for
Victorian auto sector
VACC has launched a multimillion dollar donation
program designed to support
vocational trainers that deliver
quality automotive training
All the Auto Industry
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that meets industry needs.
VACC with the support
of a diverse group of vehicle
manufacturers has developed
the Automotive Industry
Donation Program of parts,
components and vehicles to
assist training organisations
that meet industry standards.
April 15
Customers always
come first at Mackay
Toyota
A Queensland dealership has
positioned itself as one one of
the top Toyota dealerships in
the country after it took out a
number of awards earlier this
month, including the Gold
Toyota Fleet Management Rural Dealer of the Year Award.
Mackay Toyota also won
accolades for individual departments including a bronze
marketing award, bronze
customer experience award,
bronze service award and a
bronze business management award.
April 16
New Mitsubishi
Triton receives 5
stars
The Australasian New Car
Assessment Program (ANCAP)
has awarded all variants of the
new-generation Mitsubishi
Triton a maximum five-star
safety rating in advance of its
Australian debut this month.
This 5 star ANCAP safety
rating applies to all Triton
variants all cab styles, engines and driven wheels
Govt favors new car
import rule, but says
no to used cars
A Senate hearing into the
future of the automotive
industry in Australia was held
on Wednesday in which the
Australian Government today
decided to allow consumers
to import new vehicles into
the country.
Assistant Infrastructure
Continued on page 12
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 11
NEWSTALK
Continued from page 11
Minister Jamie Briggs today
revealed that the government will consider allowing
personal imports of overseas
vehicles, raising fears from
industry the move will cause
a knock-on effect to dealerships.
The new regulations would
mean greater access to the
international vehicle market
by 2018 when car manufacturing winds up in Australia.
Import lobby:
Government has not
gone far enough
The import-backing Australian Imported Motor Vehicle
Industry Association say the
government has not done
enough for the market with its
decision to not allow imported
used vehicles, and restricting
parallel imports to personal
purchases.
FCAI: Import
decision
‘irresponsible’
The government has indicated
it is likely to support the personal import of new vehicles
into Australia – but remains
negative to opening up the
market to used vehicles.
Assistant minister for
infrastructure Jamie Briggs
this morning announced the
position, following a year of
consultation on the Motor
Vehicle Standards Act.
“As part of this process the
personal importation of new
cars has been a key consideration, particularly given the
end of light vehicle manufacturing in Australia in 2017–18,”
Briggs said in his statement. April 20
Llewellyn Motors
opens all-new used
car dealership
Llewellyn Motors has opened
its fourth dealership over the
weekend in the heart of the
Ipswich CBD in Queensland.
The business opened its
newest site, which will be entirely dedicated to used cars,
in a prime spot that fronts
onto Brisbane St, Limestone
St and Gordon St.
Llewellyn Motors used car
sales manager Dan Pace said
the centre would specialise in
4WDs, SUVs, commercial vehicles and performance cars.
business.
engine bay fire.
AAAA releases Code
of Practice with six
guiding principles
April 28
April 21
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA)
has unveiled its Choice of
Repair Code of Practce at the
AAAA Conference and Expo
held last week.
AAAA executive director
Stuart Charity unveiled the
organisation’s C ode of Practice at the Friday afternoon
seminar which touched on
the key issue of telematics in
the industry.
The Code of Practice is
based on the following agreed
principles:
Customers move
towards online
purchasing over
dealership visits
A survey has revealed that carbuyers are becoming increasingly open to buying a car
online without ever visiting a
dealership, according to leading consultancy Accenture.
However the survey also
shows that consumers are
less likely to go through the
entire buying process online
perhaps because they can
foresee potential problems
and weaknesses.
Townsville to get
Porsche showroom
in July
April 24
NSW Court finds
dodgy dealer guilty
of 13 offences
More Porsches may soon be
seen on Townsville roads with
a local dealership striking up a
partnership with Porsche.
Motoco Group Townsville
in Northern Queensland, will
unveil the Porsche Centre in
July, and is already fielding
customer queries from interested North Queenslanders.
The company is in the process of fitting out a showroom
on Bowen Rd, across the
street from its existing Audi
showroom.
A Burwood used-car dealer,
Nader Soliman trading as
Prestige Australian Fleet Pty
Ltd, has been ordered to pay
$16,142 in fines and legal fees
for breaches of the Motor
Dealers Act 1974.
The Parramatta Local
Court found Soliman and his
company, Prestige Australian
Fleet, guilty of committing
13 offences against the Act,
including two instances of
selling vehicles without the
required roadworthy certificates as well as fabricating
roadworthy certification.
April 23
April 27
Honda announces
top dealerships
Product recalls for
Holden, Mercedes
Benz, Renault and
Foton
Honda has announced three
winners for their 2014 Honda
Dealer Excellence Awards.
The award criteria covers all
areas of the business including sales, service, parts and
customer satisfaction.
Dave Potter Honda of
Glenelg in South Australia,
Southside Honda of Woolloongabba in Queensland
and Blue Ribbon Honda of
Yamanto in Queensland were
recognised for excellence
across all aspects of their
12 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
Product Safety Recalls Australia has announced a number of recalls for four different
brands. GM Holden, Mercedes
Benz, Renault and Foton have
all been affected by different
types of product recalls within
the last week.
The Holden Colorado and
Holden Colorado 7 have been
recalled due to an electrical
fault that could result in an
AAT revealed as
other competitor for
Port of Fremantle
auto lease
The Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) has announced that it
will not oppose the proposed
acquisition by Australian
Amalgamated Terminals Pty
Ltd (AAT) of a long-term lease
to develop and operate the
automotive and RoRo Terminal at the Port of Fremantle,
after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking.
The undertaking seeks to
address the vertical competition concerns that arise
should AAT be successful in
its bid.
End of an era as
Toyota Camry goes
overseas
Toyota Australia has today
unveiled the last model Toyota
Camry to be built at its Altona
manufacturing plant. Along
with the facelift Aurion, the
new-look Camry and Camry
Hybrid will be in production until the company stops
manufacturing at the end of
2017.
Having built more than
3.2 million Toyota vehicles
locally since 1963, this marks
the end of an era in the Australian automotive industry.
During a special ceremony for employees and key
stakeholders, Toyota Australia
president Dave Buttner vowed
that the plant’s last car would
be the best global car.
AHG reaches 100
dealers with Mazda
purchase
Automotive Holdings Group
has announced it has been
granted a franchise to establish a new Mazda dealership
in the Brisbane suburb of
Browns Plains.
The latest acquisition of
the new Browns Plains Mazda
will be AHG’s 100th dealership across Australia and New
Zealand.
NEWSTALK
Hacking your ‘computer
on wheels’ too easy
C
ar manufacturers are
being left red faced
with the latest explosion of car thefts of late
model vehicles. The move
away from a key lock to an
electronic security system
may cost OEM’s and insurance companies millions of
dollars in claims due to a
simple security work around
by criminals.
Cars have relied on onboard computers for some
three decades, but for most
of that time, the circuits
only managed low-level
components. But that has
now changed.
Today, electronic control
units (ECUs) control or finely
tune a wide array of critical
functions, including steering, acceleration, braking,
and dashboard displays.
More importantly, as one
Queensland-based university researcher has revealed,
on-board components such
as CD players, Bluetooth for
hands-free calls, and telematics units for road-side
services make it possible
for an attacker to remotely
execute malicious code.
In September last year,
professor Andry Rakotonirainy, from QUT’s Centre for Accident Research
& Road Safety (CARRS)
commented: “The security
protection on cars is virtually non-existent, it is at a
level of protection that a
desktop computer system
had in the 1980s – the basic
security requirements such
as authentication, confidentiality and integrity are
not strong.”
Rakotonirainy has
researched the security sys-
tems of existing fleet, future
autonomous and connected
cars and has found there
is little protection against
hacking, as vehicles become
computers on wheels.
“What this means is that
as vehicles become more
and more connected and
autonomous, with the ability
to communicate to other
vehicles and infrastructure
through wireless networks,
the threat of hacking
increases putting people’s
safety and security at risk,”
he adds.
He says newer cars can
have anywhere between
30 and 120 ECU’S built into
them to control functions
like brakes and steering. “If
one, or all of them, were
hacked there was a risk a
driver could lose control of
their car. Once you control
the brain of the car you can
do absolutely anything,” he
says.
Rakotonirainy thinks it is
vital for car makers, government and road safety experts to turn their attention
to this global security threat.
“We need to be analysing
the types of risk that that
these intelligent vehicles
are facing and work to provide a secure, reliable and
trusted protection system,”
he notes.
“A vehicle’s communication security over wireless
networks cannot be an afterthought and needs to be
comprehensively considered
at the early stages of design
and deployment of these
high-tech systems from the
hardware, software, user and
policy point of view.”
Hacking cars not a new
thing, its our job: Brisbane
Locksmith
It has been revealed that
criminals with a laptop, access to the Internet, and a
electronic transponder can
easily gain access to a large
number of late model vehicles. The hackers are can
stand next to your car and
simply open a locked car
without any key simply by
opening the door handle.
This assertion is made
by John Magee of 24 Hour
Locksmith in Brisbane who
notes that hacking a cars
electronic security system
is nothing new. He says:
“Locksmiths have been
hacking car security systems
for years. How do you think
Continued on page 14
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 13
NEWSTALK
Continued from page 13
we are able to create a new
key and electronic transponder when the keys have
been lost?.”
“Car electronic security
systems have never been
secure,” Magee adds.
Magee’s reference echoes
Rakotonirainy’s view that just
about all cars can have their
electronic security systems
bypassed by a smart hacker.
Modern cars no longer need
an actual metal key. They
rely entirely on an electronic
code or transponder system.
“For a locksmith to make
a key to a car they not only
had to cut the mechanical
key, they had to be able to
recode or reproduce the
electronic security system.
How do you think that happened? Yes, it was because
once you could bypass one
particular car model, you
could bypass them all,”
Magee explains.
According to Magee this
reliance on just one system
makes cars vulnerable to
simple attacks. A car that
has a mechanical key and an
electronic immobiliser is far
more secure then just relying on an immobiliser alone.
“The reliance on a proximity system was flawed
from the start,” Magee adds.
The proximity security systems used by OEM’s seem
to be the major source of
the breakdown in integrity.
“As technology gets
better, we’re seeing
overall numbers
of vehicles going
down but those
that are stolen
by professionals
are staying the
same and in some
instances going up.”
Hackers with a high powered transmitter can read
the key code and transmit
it to the car with a special
transmitting device.
Magee notes that they
don’t even have to be near
the car for this device to
work.
“They may be able to
drive down the street and
test a large number of cars
with these transmitting devices. They are only targeting the latest model cars, as
older cars are still secured
with a physical key,” he adds.
The affect of these car
thefts is being felt by insurance companies around the
world. Paying out on an insurance claim when there is
no sign of forced entry can
be a problem for the owners
of stolen cars.
The best way to protect your car according to
Magee: “Keep it in a locked
garage or have a secondary
locking device fitted to the
car. This is really a problem
the manufacturers need to
rectify so they can make
cars more secure in the
future.”
Traditional car break-ins
still the norm, but for how
long?
Despite the concerns
about Hacking into late
model cars Mark Borlace
from motoring organisation
RAA in South Australia told
891 ABC Adelaide: “Most
vehicle thefts are still by
traditional methods such as
breaking windows or beating
door locks.”
“The most commonly
stolen cars are in the 12-15
years old age range,” Borlace
says, pointing out thieves
often were keen to sell off
such vehicles for spare parts
which were no longer in
production. He said thieves
still used car keys when they
were available.
“As technology gets
better, we’re seeing overall
numbers of vehicles going
down but those that are
stolen by professionals are
staying the same and in
some instances going up,”
he adds.
“The professionals are
using even the simplest
methods, unattended keys in
service stations, from house
break-ins, etc. We think one
in four house breaks could
be accessing car keys.
Car dealerships are able
to recode vehicle systems if
drivers have lost their keys or
fobs, and Borlace admitted
this gave thieves a possible
avenue, too.
Interestingly, Borlace suggests that drivers keep their
keyless fob in the freezer,
for example. “The cold is not
the issue, it’s the fact that
it’s a big aluminium or steel
box,” he says.
“It’s supposed to have
the effect of what is called
a Faraday cage, which is put
around something to shield
it from radio frequencies,”
he explains.
Most recently Victoria and
NSW police revealed that car
hacking is starting to happen
in Australia.
Victoria Police confirmed
to Fairfax Media last month
that it was aware of instances where devices have been
used to illegally enter locked
cars in Victoria, which has
led to valuables being stolen.
“While these activities are
not occurring on a widespread scale in Victoria, police will continue to monitor
the issue,” a spokeswoman
told Fairfax Media.
NSW Police would not
confirm instances but said
criminals were becoming
“increasingly tech-savvy”
with car break-ins. “We
urge vehicle owners to take
every possible precaution
to secure and protect their
property,” a NSW Police
spokeswoman told Fairfax
Media.
All the Auto Industry
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14 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
NEWSTALK
AAAA releases Code of Practice
T
he Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA)
has unveiled its Choice of
Repairer Code of Practce at the AAAA
Conference and Expo held last week.
AAAA executive director Stuart
Charity unveiled the organisation’s
code of practice at the Friday afternoon seminar which touched on the
key issue of telematics in the industry.
The code of practice is based on the
following agreed principles:
• Consumers should be able to
choose who maintains and/or
repairs their motor vehicle and;
• Independent repairers should be
able to access all information required for the diagnosis, body repair, servicing, inspection, periodic
monitoring and reinitialising of the
vehicle in line with the service and
repair information that manufacturers provide to their authorised
dealerships.
In his speech, Charity acknowledged the positive advances of
technology, especially on safety
and infotainment in cars, but he
also noted that as cars increasingly
become ‘computers on wheels’ the
automotive industry will find it much
harder to service or repair a vehicle
and get access to key information on
telematics-enabled cars.
The absence of an adequate regulatory framework in Australia to protect
competition in the vehicle repair and
service sector has meant that it was
not clear that vehicle manufacturers
and importers were obliged to make
technical and diagnostic information
available to repairers outside their authorised dealer networks.
This created a situation where independent aftermarket repairers have
relied on the goodwill of the manufacturer to obtain critical information to
complete the repair. Not surprisingly,
many repairers find that the process to
access technical information is difficult
and confusing.
In releasing the AAAA’s Code of
Practice Charity noted that the
automotive aftermarket industry
code of practice will be based on the
following six principles:
1.
We will ask for the data and repair
information that we need to
service and repair our customers’
vehicles;
2. We will pay a fair price for this data
and information;
3. We will formally complain when
the data is not provided, is difficult
to access or priced unreasonably;
4. We will explain to our
customers the truth
about vehicle servicing
and warranties;
5. We will provide transparent information on
the source of the parts
that we use to service
and repair vehicles, and;
6. We acknowledge the
Stuart Charity
importance of ongoing training to ensure the sector is
proficient and efficient.
In relation to the first principle, the
AAAA notes: “The repairer should be
able to access all information required
for the diagnosis, body repair, servicing, inspection, periodic monitoring,
and reinitialising of the
vehicle, in line with the
service and repair information manufacturers
provide their authorised
dealers and repairers.
“We will be meeting with and working closely with these
data providers and
scan tool companies to
carefully monitor that
information is made available for the
Australian market. At this stage our
commitment as an industry is to expect
that the data will be made available, to
continue to request this data for a fair
and reasonable price and to make representation when this does not occur,”
says the AAAA code of practice.
In relation to the second principle,
the AAAA has noted that the signatory parties to the agreement will
form a steering committee to monitor
the operation of the agreement. The
phrase ‘fair and reasonable terms’ will
be tested over the next 12 months.
From the AAAA perspective these
are the issues that we will take
into consideration when interpreting
if the price for data and information is
‘fair and reasonable’:
Manufacturers should provide the
data and information on the same
terms as that provided to the dealership, i.e. the net cost to the dealers
should be the benchmark for the price
charged to the independent repairers.
There should not be any considerable difference in the prices charged
by manufacturers for similar
information in Australia and
overseas.
Prices should be affordable
for the independent repair
industry.
In regards to the the third
principle AAAA notes: “The
operation of the data sharing
agreement will be overseen by
a steering committee comprising one representative of each of
the signatory parties; Federal Chamber
of Automotive Industries, Australian
Automotive Dealer Association, Australian Automobile Association, Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association, and the Australian Motor Industry
Federation.
Formal dispute
resolution processes
will be developed by
the heads of agreement
steering committee over
the next 12 months. In
the meantime, AAAA
will gather feedback
on the operation of the
code and any complaints
relating to the provision
of repair data in order to monitor how
the Agreement is working in practice.
Most importantly, AAAA has declared: “If after 12 months, widespread
issues of lack of accessibility continue
to occur in our industry, we will be
advocating that the Australian government implement a mandatory code
of practice to be monitored by the
Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC).”
For the fourth principle the AAAA
has made it clear that consumers are in
most circumstances ‘confused about
the differences between the consumer guarantees, warranties against
defects and extended warranties.’
“This is especially the case when
Continued on page 16
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 15
NEWSTALK
AAAA RELEASES CODE OF PRACTICE
Continued from page 15
car dealers and manufacturers make
broad statements that consumers
will “void their warranties” or similar if
they go to an independent repairer, for
example, a repairer who is not affiliated with the manufacturer or part of
the manufacturer’s network.
“Any suggestion by car manufacturers or dealers that vehicles need to
be serviced at an authorised dealer
to maintain the owner’s consumer
guarantee rights is not correct,” AAAA
notes.
In its fifth principle the AAAA notes;
“The consumer is entitled to full information regarding the maintenance
and repair of their vehicle.”
According to the AAAA: “Consumers
must be made aware, by their nominated repairer, of whether the part/s
to be used in the mechanical and/ or
body repair and/or maintenance of
their motor vehicle is: genuine (OEM
recommended) or non-genuine
(sourced from an independent manufacture/supplier); fit-for-purpose;
compatible with the operating systems of the recipient vehicle; and
compliant with all regulatory requirements, including provisions of the
Australian Consumer Law.”
In this regard, Charity noted in his
seminar speech that “the term ‘genuine parts’ is a marketing tool by the
car makers.” And adds: “Generally the
vehicle manufacturers do not make
replacement parts. These parts are
usually manufactured by third party
component suppliers with a car company brand on the box.”
“The terms ‘genuine’ and ‘non
genuine’ are not particularly transparent and do not provide good information to the consumer on the source of
these parts,” Charity says.
The AAAA notes that the sixth principle is as important as the other principles as it relates to quality training
of staff in the automotive industry.
AAAA notes: “There is a recognition
that while dissemination of service
and repair information is critical, the
industry also acknowledges the impor-
tance of ongoing repairer training to
ensure that the sector is proficient and
efficient.”
“There are a range of independent training providers delivering training and education in vehicle systems, modules and new technologies. We encourage and support the independent repair industry to access training opportunities
to maintain proficiency and to keep
skills and expertise up to date and
consistent with the vehicle technologies in modern vehicles,” AAAA notes.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries which represents
vehicle manufacturers and importers will be issuing it’s code of conduct in the coming weeks to explain to the industry how this service and repair information will be
shared.
As part of the heads of agreement,
all signatories are required to develop a code of practice or enabling
documents to enact the principles of
the agreement. Fewer road deaths but transparency
needed on sharing uniform data
T
he peak national motoring body,
the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), has released new
analysis revealing Western Australia,
South Australia and Tasmania are falling
behind other States when it comes to
reducing road deaths.
On the positive side the report
titled, Benchmarking the Performance
of the National Road Safety Strategy
2011-2020, which is issued quarterly
by the AAA, shows Australia is on track
to achieve the government’s stated
road safety target of a 30% reduction
in deaths throughout the decade to
2020.
There has also been a 3.5% reduction in the national road toll in the 12
months to March 2015, compared to
the preceding year.
“There has been a welcome reduction in the number of road deaths in
the first three months of the year with
13 fewer lives lost compared to the
previous quarter,” AAA chief executive
16 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
Michael Bradley says.
“It is encouraging the three largest
states of New South Wales, Victoria
and Queensland are all recording
the type of reductions necessary to
achieve the road safety target,” Bradley adds.
The positive developments for the
Eastern states however, were undone
Continued on page 17
NEWSTALK
Fewer road deaths but transparency
needed on sharing uniform data
Continued from page 16
by the poor performance
of Western Australia, South
Australia and Tasmania, all
of which are rated as red on
AAA’s traffic light rating system,
meaning they have fatality
rates above the NRSS target.
Analysis of the different
road user groups shows there
was a 25% reduction in the
number of cycling fatalities
on our roads throughout the
same period. And while this
is a step in the right direction,
cyclists remain the only road
user group rated as red on the
AAA traffic light rating system.
“Although cyclist deaths have been
reduced by 25% they have been given
a red rating because the trend is not
on track to meet the 2020 target,”
AAA’s director – government relations
& communications James Goodwin
told AutoTalk.
The opposite is the case with passenger deaths which are increasing,
however, they were given a Green
rating as the category is currently on
track to meet the 2020 target.
For Goodwin, the key to having
safer roads is a systems-based approach. “There is not one isolated
solution. We need safer cars, safer
roads and safer road users,” he says.
He also notes that ANCAP is playing an important role in making cars
safer and notes: “Consumer awareness of ANCAP crash ratings is growing and the AAA believes the program
continues to encourage the automotive industry to improve vehicle safety.
“Safer vehicles on our roads,
and the publics ability to recognise
and compare the safety of different
models, are key factors in reducing
Australia’s road toll.”
Ultimately, for Goodwin, the results
are somewhat of a mixed bag as he
believes the overall national result is
encouraging, but at the same time is
concerned that the results of some
states are masking the poorer performance of others.
“If all jurisdictions achieved the same
fatality rate per 100,000 population as
New South Wales, there would have
been 193 fewer deaths on our roads in
the past 12 months,” Goodwin explains.
The AAA report notes that while
things are heading in the right direction, the biggest question mark is still
around the notion of not being able to
consistently or accurately quantify the
number of serious injuries associated
with road crashes.
“Unless jurisdictions commit to
developing and sharing uniform data,
we will not be able to start monitoring
the effectiveness of safety measures
undertaken to address the estimated
32,000 serious road crash injuries sustained in Australia each year,” Bradley
concludes.
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 17
NEWSTALK
Being prepared for
multi-device usage
W
e’re almost half way through
2015 and business for many
dealerships will start ramping
up for the end of financial year. With an
upcoming influx of buyers expected, let
me start this month’s column by asking
you a couple of questions.
Firstly, how ready is your dealership
to experience yet another change in
the way consumers behave online?
And secondly, has your virtual showroom been built up in such a way it
readily accommodates for viewing on
almost every modern device available?
The uptake of tablets, in conjunction
with the continued growth and reliance on smart phone usage, is significantly changing the way consumers
‘behave’ in the online environment.
Access to information is now easy,
it’s simple to navigate, and it delivers the information they need almost
instantaneously.
The reason I ask you these key questions is because every dealer, whether
big or small, franchise or independent,
should be looking into how their online
business is evolving, ensuring every
potential buyer can have a positive
experience with them.
Today, it’s not enough to just have
a mobile site… tick! Today, we live
in a multi-device world where new
technologies are no longer an option;
they are now an ongoing consumer
expectation. Not having a mobile site
will significantly damage your traffic.
Google recently changed its search
formula so that if a website is not mobile friendly, it will not feature in the
rankings.
I had a meeting with a dealer group
in Sydney last week and was blown
away by the level of multi-device usage
in the room; with one manager particularly using his smart phone, iPad and
laptop, all in the space of 30 minutes
and all for different purposes.
The group themselves are big advocates for technology, supplying smart
phone and tablets to all salespeople
and managers, which enables them to
access their Autogate account, dealer
management system, dealer website
18 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
The mobile market, although robust
with users, is really a hard market to
crack from an app and re-engagement
perspective. For example, one major
auto destination has now withdrawn its
app from market and other major media
sites are continuing to struggle with
functionality in this environment. Again,
and customer database; all while on the
it’s great to have one… tick! But once a
move. And the best part is the greater
user has downloaded it, are they comefficiency and understanding between
ing back to use it again?
buyer and seller, they’re talking the
Our team work tirelessly to ensure
same language!
all of our apps (carsales, motoring,
From a Carsales perspective, we see
bikesales, boatsales etc.) are able
56% of our traffic coming from a mobile to continuously meet the needs of
device each month, however if we
consumers for functionality, speed,
looked at this number just three years
content and ongoing evolution - our
ago, it would be a very different result.
carsales.com.au app was even awarded
As such, this growing level of interacthe 2014 ‘Best mobile expanded sertion with our business has been the
vice or application’! Now, the reason
driving force (and key success factor)
we invest so heavily in this multibehind every new product or retail tool
device space is simple: we know that’s
we deliver to market. These days, our
where over half of our users are surfing
from. By enriching the user’s journey
online with Carsales, it will in turn
By Chris Polites, dealer
engage more potential buyers to view
director, carsales.com.au and enquire on dealer stock. The more
[email protected] potential buyers, the more opportunity our dealers have to sell cars.
So, let’s bring this multi-device condevelopment teams will no longer build
versation back to basics in dealer-land.
something without first considering the
The common scenario will be this… I’m
impact of multi-device usage.
sitting on my couch watching televiWe may often be referred to as a
sion and your dealer ad comes on. At
‘tech’ company; however we are first
the same time I’m also responding to
and foremost consumers, which is
work emails on my laptop or iPad. If I
significantly important here. If our own
was interested in buying a car from you,
staff see barriers to online experience,
what do you think I would do next, pick
then so will every other potential buyer
up the phone to call you? Hell no, it’s
out there. This is why your dealer11.30pm!
ship, your salespeople and your virtual
What I will be doing however is
showroom, must be constantly evolving picking up my phone to search for
around the changes in online behaviour. your dealer website. How EASY will it
It’s no longer a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.
be for me to find you? Because even
Just last month, the Apple Watch
though you strategically put your web
was released for pre-order. Now, with
address in big letters on my television, I
over 100 app and web developers in
can confidently say I’ll most likely have
the building, you can imagine the flurry
missed it, including my wife as she will
we had here at Carsales! This was folhave been so pre-occupied with Inslowed by much thought, planning and
tagram. So then I begin searching for
mapping of how our team will be able
your inventory online, will I find you?
to accommodate the new technology
This is the journey your ‘average Joe’
and how online consumers will start
consumer will take during a night on
to change again, in yet another new
the couch…
mobile environment. As it is, users alIn closing, if I can give you one piece
ready consume information seamlessly
of advice when it comes to the world of
between desktop, tablet and mobile.
multi-device usage and online conHowever, now with the addition of
sumer behaviour it’s this… BE PREPARED
the Apple Watch, we could start to see
FOR A CHANGE. Those Apple Watch
a serious new platform that will become people will soon be searching your
mainstream sooner than we think! Stay
inventory from their left wrist…. Are you
tuned….
ready?
STATSTALK
VFACTS: SUVs drive
April sales up 1.2% N
ew car sales rose
1.2% in April 2015,
with Australians buying 81,656 new passenger
vehicles, thanks to another
month of strong sales in the
SUV sector. There were 946
more cars sold in April 2015,
while year-to-date, sales are
up 3.5%.
The Federal Chamber
of Automotive Industries’
VFACTS report showed
sales of 81,656 in April,
compared to 80,710 a year
earlier. Once again Australia’s
new car market was led by
sales of SU’s which rose 17%
(4307), compared to April
2014. However passenger
car sales are down 10.3%
(4005 vehicles). Light commercials were also up, by
482 vehicle sales (3.4%).
Toyota, Mazda, Nissan,
Mitsubishi, Volkswagen,
Subaru and Honda all improved their year-to-date
market share last month. Three brands have seen
a drop in market share yearto-date, these are: Holden in
third place drops from 10.2%
to 8.9%, Hyundai in fourth
place has seen a drop from
9% to 8.6%, and Ford in sixth
place saw a market share
drop from 7.7% to 6% YTD.
Small passenger car sales
fell 13.8%, but the segment
continues to attract the
most buyers, holding 19.8%
of the new car market in
April 2015 and 21.1% yearto-date. Large SUVs held 12.9% of
the new car market in April,
medium SUVs held 12.1%,
4x4 light commercial vehicles held 11.6% and small
Sales increased in Tasmania
(up 8.3%), Victoria (up 5%),
Australian Capital Territory
(up 2.9%), New South Wales
(up 2.5%) and Queensland
(up 1.7%).
But, sales fell around 11%
in the Northern Territory and
Western Australia, and 1.1%
in South Australia.
Toyota was the highest
selling brand in April 2015
SUVs held 10.1%.
The Toyota Corolla (pictured) was the top selling car
in April 2015, with 3238 vehicles sold followed by the
Toyota Hilux (2789), Mazda3
(2365), Hyundai i30 (2298)
and Ford Ranger (2200).
Sales varied in states and
territories across the county.
with 18.7% of the market followed by Mazda with 9.9%,
Hyundai with 8.8%, Holden
with 8.7%, and Ford with
6.3%.
Large SUVs and private,
govt sectors sales all rise Sales for the large SUV
segment are headed by
Toyota’s Landcruiser outselling the Nissan Patrol
(under $100,000) while
above $100,000, buyers
preferred the Range Rover
which accounted for over
65% of sales.
The large SUV segment
below $70,000 was dominated by the Toyota Kluger
followed by the Prado, while
the Jeep Grand Cherokee was third with 989
sales. Above $70,000, the
top-three in the large SUV
market last month were the
Range Rover Sport, Volkswagen Touareg and BMW’s
X5.
Two midsized models
below $60,000 are the most
popular of all in the SUV
class, with the Mazda CX-5
and Toyota Rav4 making the
top-ten for April in seventh
and tenth places respectively. Above $60,000, medium
SUV buyers in April preferred
the Audi Q5, Porsche Macan
and Range Rover Evoque.
In the small SUV category
the already mentioned CX-3
took out top spot (1396) followed by the Hyundai ix35
(1389 ) and the Honda HR-V
(859). The big sellers for the
SUV small (above $40,000)
are the Lexus NX (235), in
Continued on page 20
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 19
STATSTALK
VFACTS: SUVs drive April sales up 1.2% Continued from page 19
second place is the Audi
Q3 (221), followed by the
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class
(193).
Private buyers continue
to show a preference for
SUVs and light commercial
vehicles, with private purchases of SUVs increasing
24.4% and private purchases
of light commercial vehicles
increasing 17.7%.
Budget boost
coming for used car dealers New car sales to private
buyers increased 8.8% and
new car sales to government increased 1.7%.
Business purchases were
down, with the business
community purchasing
5.6% less vehicles than in
April 2014 – although this
is expected to change with
the announcement in the
Federal Budget of a tax deduction on assets worth up
to $20,000. The instant tax
deduction may be a booster
for the used car market,
with vehicles that fall under
the $20,000 cut-off point
for claimable assets likely to
be second-hand.
Martin Ward, managing director of automotive
retail group AP Eagers, says
anyone with an ABN or a
small business would be
able to buy a vehicle for
under $20,000 and his understanding is that includes
second-hand cars.
“The majority of our
used cars are $18,000 to
$20,000,” Ward says. Few
new light commercial
vehicles are under $20,000
but Ward says tradies may
instead buy “cab-chassis”
utes - vehicles sold without
the rear carrying tray - to get
under the cutoff.
“Having said that a lot of
tradies these days have Ford
Rangers that are $45,000
to $60,000 - I’m not sug-
gesting this is going to suit
everybody,” Ward adds.
Ward said vehicle retailers
are expecting a significant
boost from the new measure and he expected dealerships around the country
were working out deals to
offer to buyers before the
end of the financial year.
“The market will be
flooded with TV advertising
between June 1 and June
30 with every possible angle on this. The car industry
is very good at grabbing
hold of any opportunity it is
given.”
Mazda breaks April record,
but Toyota stays on top
Mazda and Toyota continue to battle it out as the
top two car brands in Australia with Mazda posting its
best April month in its history, while Toyota extended
its overall sales lead in 2015.
Mazda posted a record
8068 sales in April which
saw the Japanese carmaker
beat its previous best-ever
April figure of 7833 retails
set in 2013, according to
VFACTS figures, delivering
20 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
Top 10 individual models (by sales volume)
1. Toyota Corolla 3238 (-2.3%)
2. Toyota Hi-Lux 2789 (8.4%)
3. Mazda3 2365 (-22.6%)
4. Hyundai i30 2298 (1.2%)
5. Ford Ranger 2200 (5.1%)
6. Holden Commodore 2043 (-16.4%)
7. Mazda CX-5 1868 (21.1%)
8. Volkswagen Golf 1728 (22.5%)
9. Mitsubishi Triton 1538 (12.1%)
10. Toyota RAV4 1399 (-9.6%)
Top 10 biggest selling brands April 2015 (market share
YTD)
1. Toyota 64,285 (17.9%) 2. Mazda 36,348 (10.1%) 3. Holden 31,853 (8.9%)
4. Hyundai 30,823 (8.6%) 5. Nissan 21,847 (6.1%) 6. Ford 21,565 (6%) 7. Mitsubishi 20,706 (5.8%) 8. Volkswagen 19,383 (5.4%) 9. Subaru 13,381 (3.7%) 10. Honda 12,205 (3.4%)
a 10.1% market share with
sales up 4.5% year-on-year
(YOY).
The standout performer
was the Mazda CX-3 SUV,
posting 1396 sales in its first
full month on the market,
The CX-3 outsold all of
its competition, making it
April’s number one selling
small SUV.
Mazda has now sold
36,348 cars, SUVs and utilities in the first four months
of the year, which is also a
Continued on page 22
STATSTALK
VEHICLE SALES BY STATE – APRIL 2015
SOURCE: VFACTS – FCAI
MONTH
YTD
Variance +/- Vol. & %
Total Market
2015
2014
2015
2014
MTH
YTD
MTH
YTD
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
1,217
1,183
5,659
5,535
34
124
2.90%
2.20%
NEW SOUTH WALES
26,264
25,625
115,808
110,923
639
4,885
2.50%
4.40%
NORTHERN TERRITORY
948
1,070
3,551
3,572
-122
-21
-11.40%
-0.60%
QUEENSLAND
17,335
17,041
74,616
71,141
294
3,475
1.70%
4.90%
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
4,843
4,897
21,970
21,753
-54
217
-1.10%
1.00%
TASMANIA
1,280
1,182
5,613
5,182
98
431
8.30%
8.30%
VICTORIA
22,160
21,108
97,649
92,119
1,052
5,530
5.00%
6.00%
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
7,609
8,604
34,384
36,855
-995
-2,471
-11.60%
-6.70%
Total
81,656
80,710
359,250
347,080
946
12,170
1.20%
3.50%
VEHICLE SALES BY SECTOR – APRIL 2015
MONTH
YTD
Variance +/- Vol. & %
2015
2014
2015
2014
MTH
YTD
MTH
YTD
Passenger
35,015
39,020
163,774
171,344
-4,005
-7,570
-10.3
-4.4
SUV
29,664
25,357
124,885
107,902
4,307
16,983
17
15.7
Light Commercial
14,527
14,045
61,410
58,866
482
2,544
3.4
4.3
Heavy Commercial
2,450
2,288
9,181
8,968
162
213
7.1
2.4
Total Market
81,656
80,710
359,250
347,080
946
12,170
1.2
3.5
MONTH
YTD
Variance +/- Vol. & %
Micro
850
1,173
3,608
6,238
-323
-2,630
-27.5
-42.2
Light
7,179
7,499
36,578
32,939
-320
3,639
-4.3
11
Small
16,188
18,775
75,838
82,324
-2,587
-6,486
-13.8
-7.9
Medium
4,763
4,835
22,315
21,061
-72
1,254
-1.5
6
Large
3,158
3,819
13,646
15,792
-661
-2,146
-17.3
-13.6
Upper Large
241
345
900
1,228
-104
-328
-30.1
-26.7
People Movers
799
880
3,329
3,523
-81
-194
-9.2
-5.5
Sports
1,837
1,694
7,560
8,239
143
-679
8.4
-8.2
SUV Small
8,221
6,265
34,279
26,213
1,956
8,066
31.2
30.8
SUV Medium
9,916
8,923
43,159
38,002
993
5,157
11.1
13.6
SUV Large
10,508
9,294
43,474
39,843
1,214
3,631
13.1
9.1
SUV Upper Large
1,019
875
3,973
3,844
144
129
16.5
3.4
Light Buses < 20 Seats
332
340
1,034
896
-8
138
-2.4
15.4
Light Buses => 20 Seats
42
49
218
207
-7
11
-14.3
5.3
Vans/CC <= 2.5t
316
227
1,212
971
89
241
39.2
24.8
Vans/CC 2.5-3.5t
1,358
1,224
5,305
4,849
134
456
10.9
9.4
PU/CC 4X2
3,035
3,305
12,449
14,182
-270
-1,733
-8.2
-12.2
PU/CC 4X4
9,444
8,900
41,192
37,761
544
3,431
6.1
9.1
Heavy Commercial
2,450
2,288
9,181
8,968
162
213
7.1
2.4
Total Market
81,656
80,710
359,250
347,080
946
12,170
1.2
3.5
AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015 | 21
STATSTALK
VFACTS: SUVs drive April sales up 1.2% Continued from page 20
record.
For the fourth consecutive year the CX-5 posted an
April record. With numbers
up almost 13% YOY, 1868
sales, beating the previous
record, set in 2014, by over
300 units. Enjoying 7996 retails YTD, the medium SUV is
averaging almost 2000 sales
per month in 2015.
The all-new Mazda2
hatch saw 926 sales
last month. With a refreshed Mazda2 sedan arriving in late-August, Mazda
expects numbers to grow
further given the added
choice that two models
gives buyers. Mazda2 tops
the light segment with 4975
YTD sales.
Mazda also sold 897 BT50s and 415 Mazda6s - the
latter maintaining its position
as the country’s favourite
mid-sized import under
$60,000.
Mazda Australia manag-
ing director, Martin Benders
says: “We have enjoyed an
outstanding start to 2015
thanks to a number of new
models and upgrades over
the last five months, and the
increasing appeal of SUVs.
CX-5 has risen to another
level of demand with the
latest upgrade, while the
appeal of the CX-3 has exceeded all expectations.”
“To have sold 2261 CX-3s
in just over six weeks has
been simply astonishing.
This tells us that those
interested in a small SUV
are looking for something
with more style and power,
and want a greater range of
choice. I think we’ve delivered this,” Benders adds.
Meanwhile, the Toyota
Corolla was Australia’s
best-selling car for the third
consecutive month in April.
Toyota sales will be boosted
in the coming months with
the new look Camry recently unveiled.
22 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2015
April sales of 15,299
Toyota vehicles were higher
than the combined totals of
the second and third-ranked
brands. Toyota has delivered
64,285 new vehicles in the
first four months of the year
- a gain of 2% over the same
period last year and close
to 28,000 sales clear of its
closest rival Mazda.
Corolla leads the way
with its sales climbing more
than 9.2% this year to just
over 14,900 cars - its second-highest tally on record
for a January-April period.
Only the boom year of 2008
was stronger.
After topping the sales
charts for the past three
months, Corolla now has
an overall lead approaching 1500 sales as Australia’s
best-selling car in 2015. Corolla was supported by
segment-leading results
from HiLux 4x2 and 4x4,
Camry, Yaris, LandCruiser
200 Series and HiAce van
and bus.
Toyota Australia’s executive director sales and
marketing Tony Cramb said
the company’s sales would
continue to benefit from
new models, improved customer service and innovative marketing.
“We are about to enter
an intense period of model
launches with Toyota dealers able to offer at least 10
new or substantially revised
vehicles over the next 10
months,” Cramb says.
“A highlight will be the
arrival later this month of
a Camry range that has
undergone a transformation
with dramatic new styling
and other improvements
which we are proud to deliver to the market,” he adds.
“In addition, the entire
auto industry is benefiting as private and business
customers take advantage
of strong competition and
record-low interest rates.”
“Our success depends
on your success”
- Vehicle Logistics Specialists
- Full Service Package
- Regular Shipments
- Department of Agriculture Pre Inspection in Japan
- We care about Customer Service and efficiency
- At Autohub, We Understand your business
www.autohub.co/au
1300 132 227
[email protected]