1360.0 - Measuring Australia's Economy, 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/02/2003   
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Contents >> Section 4. Domestic Consumption and Investment >> Sales of New Motor Vehicles

Sales of new motor vehicles rose from 616,256 in 1994, peaked at 807,669 in 1998, and subsequently declined to 772,681 in 2001. The sales decline was in the passenger vehicle category (excluding: motorcycles and four-wheel drive passenger vehicles) where sales in 2001 were 54,908 vehicles below the 1998 record high, an overall fall of 9.4%. In contrast, new sales of 'other' vehicles, (including: four-wheel drive passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, all terrain vehicles, and pick-up/cab chassis vehicles), reached a level in 2001 that was 19,920 vehicles above the level in 1998, a rise of 8.9%. The higher rate of sales growth for 'other' vehicles has led to their share of total sales rising from 25% in 1994, to 28% in 1998 and 31% in 2001.







SALES OF NEW MOTOR VEHICLES
Year
Passenger vehicles
Other vehicles(a)
Total vehicles(a)
ANNUAL (ORIGINAL)
1994
460,668
155,588
616,256
1995
488,372
154,185
642,557
1996
492,058
157,991
650,049
1997
540,353
182,289
722,642
1998
584,360
223,309
807,669
1999
547,572
239,243
786,815
2000
553,673
233,427
787,100
2001
529,452
243,229
772,681
MONTHLY (TREND)
2001-02
July
43,146
20,346
63,492
August
43,256
20,720
63,976
September
43,757
21,186
64,943
October
44,535
21,681
66,216
November
45,348
22,103
67,451
December
45,979
22,491
68,470
January
46,309
22,862
69,171
February
46,239
23,162
69,401
March
45,802
23,332
69,134
April
45,201
23,455
68,656
May
44,731
23,609
68,340
June
44,642
23,882
68,524
(a) Excludes motor cycles, plant and equipment and unpowered vehicles.

Source: Sales of New Motor Vehicles, Australia (9314.0).


Explanatory Notes

Statistics on sales of new motor vehicles are based on the VFACTS series produced by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). VFACTS reports the numbers of new motor vehicle sales by dealers and direct sales by manufacturers throughout Australia.

These statistics replace the New Motor Vehicle Registrations (NMVR) collection. The NMVR collection provided a proxy for vehicle sales and were mainly used as an indicator of general economic activity. From the early 1990's FCAI established the VFACTS collection, an alternative data source that directly measures sales of new vehicles. While the sources of the NMVR and VFACTS collections are quite different, they each produced outputs which are largely comparable and which have tracked closely for some time. Given this duplication, the ABS ceased its NMVR collection after the release of statistics relating to the month of December 2001.

A significant part of consumer spending is the purchase of new motor vehicles. Therefore, changes in new motor vehicle sales provide an indication of changes in consumer spending.

Commonwealth and State Government Treasury offices and other policy departments use sales statistics for economic planning. The statistics are also used by motor vehicle manufacturers and distributors for market research and by financial institutions in setting lending policies.


Further Reading

Motor Vehicle Census, Australia (9309.0)
Contains counts of all motor vehicles registered in Australia, by data items such as body type, make and year of manufacture.

Sales of New Motor Vehicle Registrations, Australia (9314.0)
Contains monthly sales in each State and Territory of new passenger vehicles and other vehicles.

Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia (9208.0)
Contains statistics on motor vehicle usage during a 12 month reference period.



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