Aussies prefer Hyundais to Holdens

The Holden VF SS Commodore sports sedan. Picture: Mark Brake Source: The Advertiser

AUSTRALIANS may soon be chanting "football, meat pies, kangaroos and Korean cars" after we bought more new Hyundais than Holdens last month.

It was the second serious blow to Holden in two months, having been overtaken by Nissan in February for the first time ever. And now beaten by Hyundai and Nissan in March.

The last two months mark the first time in Holden's 65-year history that it has ranked outside the top three selling brands.

The sobering sales figures emerged as it was revealed yesterday Holden receives twice as much government funding as Australia's other car manufacturers - even though Holden does not build as many cars as market leader Toyota.

Holden has received $2.17 billion in state and federal money over the past 12 years compared to Toyota taking $1.2 billion and Ford $1.1 billion. This equates to Holden receiving an average of $180 million a year compared to Toyota ($95.8 million) and Ford ($87.8 million).

Using the funding average and last year's production numbers as a guide, Holden received $2117 per car built in 2012 compared to $944 for every locally made Toyota and $2372 per locally-made Ford (see table).

Defending the government generosity, Holden says it invested $32.7 billion and paid $1.4 billion in income tax for its workforce over the same 12-year period it received $2.17 billion in taxpayer assistance.

Holden boss Mike Devereux says without this level of government support "it is absolutely impossible to make cars in this country" and the subsidies were "in line with or lower than" those in other countries.

Meanwhile senior Ford executives in North America last week again refused to commit to producing cars locally beyond 2016. Ford Australia is yet to apply for government funding beyond its current 2016 deadline, while Holden has signed on until 2022 and Toyota Australia is negotiating on the next generation Camry that will run to 2024.

"The strength of the Australian dollar has had a huge impact on the market for new cars," Holden spokesman Matt Hobbs told News Limited.

"We are at near record levels with all major currencies and the quick depreciation of the Yen to the Aussie dollar since October has just increased the pressure (on the local market)."

Despite ideal buying conditions and new-car affordability, preliminary figures show sales have slowed. After last year's all-time record, Australians appear to have over-indulged on low interest-rate offers.

Sales for March were down by about 1.5 per cent compared to the same month the previous year; the first monthly decline since December 2011.

Market researcher Charlie Nelson and other industry analysts have been forecasting a new-car sales slowdown for some months.

A report released by Nelson in March said "there are doubts about the sustainability of the current high sales level". It said low interest-rate deals and low prices had "brought forward demand".

TOP SELLING BRANDS IN MARCH 2013
Toyota 18,600 (up 1.1 per cent)
Mazda 9110 (down 2.5 per cent)
Hyundai 8400 (up 7.6 per cent)
Nissan 8320 (up 0.2 per cent)
Holden 8290 (down 18 per cent)
Ford 6430 (down 13 per cent)
Mitsubishi 5150 (down 14 per cent)
Volkswagen 4300 (down 4.1 per cent)
Subaru 4210 (up 5.4 per cent)
Honda 3895 (up 73 per cent)

TOP SELLING CARS IN MARCH 2013
Mazda3 3785
Toyota Corolla 3510
Toyota HiLux 3125
Hyundai i30 2295
Nissan Navara 2440
Mitsubishi Triton 1995
Toyota Camry 1915
Ford Ranger 1685
Nissan Pulsar 1630
Holden Commodore 1605
*Preliminary sales figures, rounded. Official data released later this week.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING OVER THE PAST 12 YEARS (2001 to 2012):
Holden: $2.17 billion
Toyota: $1.2 billion
Ford: $1.1 billion

ANNUAL AVERAGE OVER THE PAST 12 YEARS (2001 to 2012):
Holden: $180 million
Toyota: $95.8 million
Ford: $87.8 million

CARS MADE LOCALLY IN 2012:
Holden: 85,000
Toyota: 101,500
Ford: 37,000

AVERAGE TAXPAYER DOLLARS PER CAR BUILT IN 2012:
Holden: $2117
Toyota: $944
Ford: $2372

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