Tasmania is leading the nation for new vehicle sales growth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was the only state or territory where sales did not decline in the first five months of the calendar year, or in May, compared to the corresponding periods a year earlier.
National sales decreased by 8.1 per cent on both measures, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' latest VFACTS report said.
The 7414 Tasmanian year to date sales were 2.2 per cent stronger, and the 1747 May sales were 5.4 per cent ahead of sales in May 2018.
Sales of SUVS and light commercials were now both firmly ahead of sales of passenger vehicles.
The year to date Tasmanian sales comprised 3161 SUVs, 2149 light commercials, 1819 passenger vehicles and 285 heavy commercials.
Sales compared to the first five months of 2018 were up by 10.7 per cent for light commercials, 6 per cent for SUVs and 5.2 per cent for heavy commercials, but down by 11.9 per cent for passenger vehicles.
Toyota was the clear market leader.
It had 1298 year to date sales, followed by Mitsubishi, with 741, and Hyundai (575).
Other leading marques included:
- Subaru, 546;
- Mazda, 525; and
- Ford, 521.
Electric vehicles were still struggling to penetrate the Tasmanian market.
Just four of the 1747 new vehicles sold in Tasmania in May were electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Hybrids fared much better, with 71 sales.
No new Australian-made new vehicles were sold in Tasmania in the first five months of the year, following on from the end of Australian car manufacturing.
Japan and Thailand were Tasmania's biggest suppliers of new vehicles, with 2323 and 2347 year to date sales respectively.
South Korea was a distant third (921).
Less prolific suppliers included Austria, Canada, Finland, the Slovak Republic, Sweden, India, Italy and Turkey.