Ford beats Holden in April, first time in 17 years

After 11 straight years of decline Ford has finally started its sales turnaround -- and has notched up a rare win against an old rival.

For the first time this century Ford has beaten its historical rival Holden in the monthly new-car sales race.

The last time Ford beat its former foe was 17 years and three months ago -- in January 1999 -- when the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon still battled for top spot.

Ford outsold Holden by just 132 deliveries (6842 versus 6710) in April, its sixth month in a row of growth after 11 years of sharp decline, according to official sales figures due to be released midday Wednesday.

Ford was driven by demand for the new Mustang -- which has outsold the locally-made Falcon so far this year -- and its Ranger 4WD ute, which outsold the Toyota HiLux 4WD for the second time in four months.

The Ford Ranger 4WD ute is just 191 sales year-to-date behind Australia’s top-selling workhorse for the past three decades -- however the Toyota HiLux still has a commanding lead once cheaper 2WD utes are also counted.

While Holden still leads Ford in the year-to-date tally, it has been beaten every month this year by Hyundai and finished fifth in April -- the lowest ranking for the General Motors brand since records were kept.

Driven by a rock bottom $19,990 drive-away price -- about $7500 off the RRP -- the Hyundai i30 hatchback was Australia’s top selling car for the second month in a row after once again defeating the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3.

A three-way battle has now emerged at the top of the charts -- just 130 sales separate the top three sellers year-to-date, the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.

It is the closest year-to-date contest among top three sellers in Australia’s automotive history.

The Hyundai result is all the more remarkable considering the tally is for a hatch only; the sedan version of the same car is marketed under another name.

Figures for the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 include both hatch and sedan models.

If Hyundai renamed the Elantra sedan -- which is based on the i30 hatch -- it would have a chance to become Australia’s top-selling car this year.

In other upsets Hyundai ranked second overall in April behind Toyota and ahead of Mazda.

Meanwhile German luxury brands continue to post record sales, with Mercedes-Benz making it into the Top 10 once again, ahead of Subaru, Kia, Honda, BMW and Audi.

Figures show it was the best April on record, with 87,571 vehicles reported as sold, up 7.2 per cent on the same month last year and ahead of the previous April record set in 2013.

With one-third of the year complete -- up 3.8 per cent over the same period last year, with 372,899 deliveries -- the new-car market is on track to post another record this year, eclipsing the 2015 high of 1,155,408.

Industry analysts say the continued sales surge has been driven by record low interest rates and fierce competition among the Top 10 brands.

There are more new cars -- and therefore more models -- on sale in Australia than in any other developed country.

New-car buyers in Australia have a choice of 67 brands and more than 500 models, versus 51 brands in the US, 53 in the UK and fewer than 40 in Japan.

Top 10 brands in April 2016
Toyota 16,567 -- up 8.3 per cent
Hyundai 8643 -- up 19.9 per cent
Mazda 8461 -- up 4.9 per cent
Ford 6842 -- up 32.5 per cent
Holden 6710 -- down 5.1 per cent
Volkswagen -- up 3.5 per cent
Mitsubishi -- up 2.5 per cent
Nissan 4044 -- down 3.4 per cent
Mercedes-Benz 3303 -- up 24.5 per cent
Subaru 3156 -- up 3.4 per cent
 
Top 10 cars in April 2016
Hyundai i30 4143 -- up 80.3 per cent
Toyota HiLux 3384 -- up 24.5 per cent
Ford Ranger 2973 -- up 35.1 per cent
Toyota Corolla 2959 -- down 8.6 per cent
Mazda3 2512 -- up  6.2 per cent
Holden Commodore 1908 -- down 6.6 per cent
Volkswagen Golf 1811 -- up 6.7 per cent
Mazda CX-5 1675 -- down 10.3 per cent
Mazda CX-3 1604 -- up 14.9 per cent
Hyundai Accent 1555 -- up 177 per cent
 
Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Sales for April 2016, and percentage change from the same month in 2015.