National

Vehicle market posts small sales rise

By AAP Newswire

Mar 3, 2022

Thousands of new cars await delivery — Sales of new cars and trucks in Australia rose marginally to 85,340 in February. -AAP Image

Sales of new cars and trucks rose marginally in Australia last month, reflecting strong demand from local buyers in the face of continued supply issues.

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The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said 85,340 vehicles were sold in February, up 1.6 per cent compared to the same month last year.

FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said the result was positive given supply chains were still not fully stabilised amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"Global supply chains for microprocessor units are still some distance from full recovery, so we are pleased to see this small increase on 2021 figures," he said.

"The consumer demand for new cars in Australia remains strong and manufacturers are continuing to work hard to get cars into the hands of motorists."

Toyota was the market leader in February with 20,886 vehicles, ahead of Mazda with 8782, Mitsubishi (7813), Kia (5881) and Hyundai (5649).

Toyota's Hilux was the top-selling model with 4803, ahead of the company's Rav4 on 4454 and the Mitsubishi Triton on 3811.

The February result left the market down 1.5 per cent over the first two months of 2022 after a 4.8 per cent fall in demand in January.