Camry helps Toyota extend lead

Including the old model Commodore, total sales for the nameplate fell just short of 5000 units, allowing it to snatch back No.1 spot from the Corolla, which has enjoyed two months at the top.

However, this year's trends were reinforced last month with demand for light city cars now up 23 per cent while large cars have slumped 23 per cent, according to official figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries released yesterday.

Light cars accounted for 13 per cent of the August vehicle market, up from 9.5 per cent a year ago. Meanwhile, large cars now comprise just 14 per cent of vehicle sales this year, down from 17.5 per cent.

Toyota's Yaris dominates the light car segment and it helped the Japanese giant stretch its sales lead over Holden to nearly 43,000 vehicles year-to-date.

Despite the small car boom, overall vehicle sales continue to run behind last year's record result, widening slightly in August to be 3.4 per cent down on 2005. However, the FCAI has stuck to its forecast of 980,000 sales for the full year. "After four years of record growth the FCAI had been forecasting a slight decline of total sales in 2006 and the downturn is only a little greater than our initial prediction," said FCAI chief executive Peter Sturrock.

He said August was notable for the strong debuts of the two new locally manufactured models. "The enthusiastic reception for the Holden Commodore and Toyota Camry is a great encouragement to the local automotive industry," he said.

Holden spokesman Jason Laird said early buyers were opting for luxury and performance versions of the VE Commodore, but trends had yet to emerge. "It's a promising start but too early to be drawing any sort of conclusion," he said. "Dealers are filling their inventories and we're getting close to our production rate of 620 a day."

Toyota Australia's senior executive director of sales and marketing David Buttner said the new Camry had been eagerly anticipated by private and fleet customers.

"It's notable that Toyota's record sales total was achieved without any significant sales contribution from Camry V6, which is being phased out in preparation for the new Aurion," he said, referring to the six-cylinder Camry variant due later this year.

Other locally built large cars had a tough time last month. The Mitsubishi 380 increased sales marginally over its dismal July result but still found only 1069 buyers. The company revised down its sales forecast to 1500 a month when it cut the price in April. Overall Mitsubishi sales are now down 11 per cent for the year, with declines for all models except the Lancer and Triton ute.

The Ford Falcon recorded 3700 sales, down from 5800 last August and it is now running 20 per cent behind its 2005 sales rate. Ford's Territory SUV, with 1600 buyers last month, is down more than 18 per cent on last year.

Ford found some consolation in a 77 per cent increase in demand for its small Focus, which overhauled the Territory to become its second most popular model in August with nearly 1700 sales.

Mazda remains the leading importer in fourth spot on the sales chart, despite a 4.5 per cent dip this year. Honda has climbed to fifth, edging out Mitsubishi by 500 units. Its 12.5 per cent year-to-date sales increase makes it the best performing brand in the top 10.

Volkswagen, with 37 per cent sales growth for the year, could overhaul tenth-placed Kia if the Korean importer fails to turn around its current slump.

Other strong performers include Chrysler, up 73.6 per cent, Saab (+43.5 per cent), Volvo (+36.5), Peugeot (+25.2), Lexus (+24.5) and Suzuki (+24.4).