4WD and off-roaders booming

More families are ignoring rising fuel costs to ditch their family sedans and switch to all-wheel drive wagons, according to the latest industry sales figures.  So far this year almost 95,000 off-roaders have been sold, 24,000 more than last year.

Subaru's Forester is the country's best-selling ‘compact’ off-roader and the company's Outback is also among the top 10 picks.  Subaru Australia spokesman, David Rowley, said the Forester had hit a sweet spot with buyers.

"It goes far beyond the traditional family car," he said.  "It also appeals to a wide audience, from young families to retirees."

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries VFACTS sales figures show that 89,218 cars, off-roaders and commercial vehicles were sold last month, up 13,777 vehicles over the same month last year. 

The chamber's chief executive, Andrew McKellar, said last month's result proved that sales momentum remained strong.  "All vehicle segments increased during the month, demonstrating a genuine recovery in the marketplace," he said. 

Mr McKellar said mums and dads were also returning to showrooms.  "It is encouraging to note that private buyers returned in larger numbers last month (up 27.2 per cent) taking over some of the momentum that business buyers have provided over the past year," he said.

Toyota remains in No1 sales spot with a market share of 20 per cent, ahead of Holden and Ford on 12.8 per cent and 10.1 per cent.  This year 422,446 new vehicles have been sold, 20 per cent up on the first five months of 2009.

Top 10 compact off-roaders (year to date)

1 Subaru Forester 5709
2 Toyota RAV4 5364
3 Mazda CX-7 3942
4 Mitsubishi Outlander 3608
5 Nissan X-Trail 3576
6 Volkswagen Tiguan 2978
7 Honda CRV 2846
8 Subaru Outback 2524
9 Nissan Dualis 2322
10 Hyundai ix35 1963

Top 10 cars in May
1 Holden Commodore 3899
2 Toyota HiLux 3665
3 Ford Falcon 3258
4 Mazda3 2901
5 Toyota Corolla 2796
6 Holden Cruze 2484
7 Hyundai i30 2385
8 Mitsubishi Lancer 2368
9 Nissan Navara 1972
10 Toyota Camry 1966