Mazda3 claims Commodore crown

By Neil McDonald
Herald Sun
03 February 2009

Mazda3 outsells Commodore in January '09. Photo Gallery

The Mazda3 has eclipsed the might of Toyota and Holden by becoming the country's top-selling car last month.

It is believed to be the first time the brand has grabbed number one sales spot for a month.

Mazda’s won’t officially comment on the sales bonanza but dealers are abuzz with the good news.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' January VFACTS sales data due out tomorrow (Wednesday) is expected to show Mazda sold about 3080 3s last month.

That means it has edged out the Holden Commodore and popular Toyota Corolla for number one spot.

Once again small cars are dominating the latest VFACTS figures.

Overall sales started the year 20 per cent down across all leading brands last month.

About 67,000 vehicles were sold last month, down more than 15,000 compared to January 2008's tally of 82,270 vehicles.

Dealers are blaming the poor economic outlook and annual holidays for slow start to the year.

However, despite some individual standouts, most brands had a poor month.

Market leader Toyota was down 25 per cent, Kia 30 per cent and Honda 16 per cent.

Toyota sold about 13,500 new vehicles, down from 17,852 in January 2008.

Holden sold 8500 vehicles, down 15 per cent.

Importer Mazda eclipsed Ford, selling about 6500 cars against Ford's January tally of 6000 vehicles.

Ford sales were down 21 per cent.

Mazda fared better, but sales were still down 8 per cent while Suzuki was down 5.5 per cent.

Korean importer Hyundai sold about 3700 vehicles, down 16 per cent while Volkswagen was down 10 per cent with 2100 sales.

German importer Audi went against the trend.

It sold 1081 vehicles, up 5.5 per cent over January 2008.

January is traditionally a strong retail month.

But many Melbourne dealers are still heavy with 2008 stock and slashing prices ahead of price rises.

Mazda, Suzuki, Nissan and Honda prices rose on January 1.

Buyers of 2009 models will have to pay between $250 and $3500 more, depending on the model.

The car industry is forecasting a 15 per cent fall in sales this year, down from more than 1 million last year to around 850,000.

Top Ten Makes

1. Mazda3 3080

2. Holden Commodore 3000

3. Toyota Corolla 2700

4. Toyota HiLux 2600

5. Toyota Camry 1900

6. Ford Falcon 1800

7. Mitsubishi Lancer 1600

8. Holden Astra 1500

9. Nissan Navara 1150

10. Toyota RAV4 1000

Comments on this story

Displaying 3 of 12 comments

Holden Caufield, It's not that Australia can't develop a small/light car, we simply can't produce it cheap enough. Dont forget that we DID make small cars here until they deregulated the automotive industy and reduced import tariffs, therefore meaning we HAVE TO build larger cars because they command a higher price. Don't get me wrong, I want to see small cars produced locally too, but thats not going to happen when they have to compete with cheap labour.
Karl Posted on 11 February 2009 6:34pm
If the Australian cars were half as good as the Japs or the Europeons we might but my $$ have gone to Mazda for the last 25yrs and I'm a loyal and happy repaet Mazda owner. Well done mazda and bring on the new Mazda 3..... but wht gets me is that the top ten is wrong.....why wasn't the Mazda 2 in the top ten ????? Manufacturer - Monthly Sales - YTD Sales Toyota - 13,427 - 13,427 Holden - 8,762 - 8,762 Mazda - 6,532 - 6,532 Ford - 6,020 - 6,020 Honda - 5,013 - 5,013 Mitsubishi - 4,090 - 4,090 Nissan - 3,761 - 3,761 Hyundai - 3,701 - 3,701 Subaru - 3,025 - 3,025 Volkswagen - 2,129 - 2,129 Total Market - 67,079 - 67,079 Mazda Model Breakdown (Model - Monthly Sales - YTD Sales) Mazda2 - 1,335 - 1,335 Mazda3 - 3,120 - 3,120 Mazda3 MPS - 4 - 4 Mazda6 - 689 - 689 MX-5 - 34 - 34 RX-8 - 27 - 27 CX-7 - 311 - 311 CX-9 - 283 - 283 BT-50 4X2 - 477 - 477 BT-50 4X4 - 252 - 252 Source: VFACTS
David Rome of Guildford Posted on 10 February 2009 1:39am
Im a very proud australian I own a 1997Holden vs ss series 2 V8 sedan in immaculate condition Ive owned since new only use on the weekends Ive never had to spend a cent on it except when it goes in for her serviceing its a pleasure of car to drive in its class and loving it infact its very economical car and it goes like a clappers when its needed,excellance performaning family car keep up the good australia.
alton aranui Posted on 07 February 2009 1:24pm
mazda and ford are very similar they use the same engines and have done so for ages the focus and the 3 are the same platform they are both good cars pity about service at dealerships tho i dont really know if they can fix a car from what ive seen lately in a workshop ive seen once the falcon headgaskets are repaired *properly* they no longer give strife we actually see more holden v6s woth head gasket problems and even seized engines that fords the ba engine onwards is a very solid engine the only major concern is the radiators but if you have an external trans cooler installed they are generally pretty good ive seen a few ba,s with over 450000kms still in good nick. the new VE is a bucket ive heard sooo many people wanting there money back there are so many software issues with them more than windows 98 haha i agree with peter s japanese cars are the best out there at the moment
krusty of clown collage Posted on 06 February 2009 4:31pm
What makes me incandescent with rage is not Dave, who isn't the sharpest tool in shed, but that we have the expertise in this country to have designed and bulit our own competitive smaller cars years ago. Then all those jobs supporters of Ford and Holden like to remind us of would be safe for the longer term.
Holden Caulfield Posted on 06 February 2009 2:41pm
Buy Australian. Australia makes great value Large sedans, wagons SUv's and Utes and Luxury models. Soon they will be making smaller 4 cylinder models too. Help keep jobs in Australia, We have a car industry to be proud of. I have always owned Australian cars and I hope we can Always buy Australian.
Dave Posted on 06 February 2009 12:00pm
I think the problem with Ford is that people don't trust their quality. We've had cylinder head gasket/bolt (alloy head and cast iron block) problems (for years), water pump failures, rust in Territories, electrical problems, diff problems, and now brake hoses failing. They might be a good design, but what is going to happen to your car over the next five years, while you are paying it off ? I drive a 17 year old Mazda 626 with 370,000 Km on the clock, have spent bugger all on it (except religiously changing the oil and filter), and it's going like a train. It's a great car, and the quality touches are all over the car, just like recent Mazdas (since Mazda bought back the farm).
JIm of Melbourne Posted on 05 February 2009 4:23pm
matthew do you even know what your talking about i am a mechanic and i will tell you now the commodore is a heap i will compare the ve to the vn thats how bad it is electrical faults are extremely common and cabin road noise is aweful (ive been in quieter john deere tractors) the falcon is a way better car i have owned both commodores and falcons fords drivability is alot better and towing is better and feels more stable with a ford also lpg systems on falcons are alot better still. by saying this its good to buy australian but as compared to other products on the market id rather buy japanese there products are extremely reliable and build quality is alot better thats why toyota sell so many cars and yes there will be a rise of dominance by this manufacturer and other japanese manufacturers in the future
peter s of adelaide Posted on 05 February 2009 4:10pm
Its a name thing, if you put a Commodore bage on a Falcon then it will sell alot more.
shaun of Melb Posted on 05 February 2009 10:28am
andrew of qld if the falcon that bloody good they will out sell.every car maker's in australia.people of australia.finally see what a piece of sh#t these cars are.13 years in a row the commodores.out sell the falcon.its only going get worst for the falcon when the new commodores are release end of this year or early next year.do your research on google before you jump.or the easy way out is walk out your front gate for once and see for your self
matthew of qld Posted on 04 February 2009 8:42pm
It still amazes me that more commodores are sold than Falcons. The FG Falcon is simply a better car....are Australians that blinded by the holden name? This trend has been the same for a while now ie. BA days also, I mean come on that VY was an ugly piece of rubbish. More often than not the Falcon is revered as the best Australian car but still the masses buy the commodore. It is perplexing!
Andrew of QLD Posted on 04 February 2009 1:45pm
I am sure the Mazda is a great car but, come on people support our car industry and our jobs!
Dave Posted on 04 February 2009 10:21am

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