April VFacts.. Falcon !!!!!!

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Mazda bumps Holden, roars into second place behind Toyota
Joshua Dowling
May 1, 2012 - 4:02PM
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Preliminary sales figures for April show import-only brand is Number Two.

Mazda’s march to the top of the sales chart continued in April.

Last year, the Mazda3 small car became Australia’s top-selling vehicle, ending the Holden Commodore’s 15-year winning streak.

In March, Mazda as a brand toppled local manufacturer Ford for a spot on the podium behind Toyota and Holden.

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Now Mazda has done what was once considered unimaginable – the Japanese import-only brand has bumped Holden to be the second-biggest selling brand behind Toyota in April.

According to preliminary figures, Mazda eclipsed Holden by fewer than 100 sales in a month that is typically a difficult period for new-car sales given the number of holiday breaks.

Toyota sold approximately 16,000 new cars last month compared to Mazda’s tally of about 7700 and Holden’s of about 7600.

South Korean car maker Hyundai was fourth with about 7000 sales, while Ford continued to struggle, finishing in fifth place for the second month in a row with approximately 6300 sales.

Ford’s April sales figures would not have been affected by the factory shutdowns last Thursday, but they may have an impact this month.

A number of factors contributed to Mazda’s success and Holden’s decline last month.

The Mazda3 small car continues to sell well and remains the country’s top-selling passenger car – and Mazda’s CX-5 has quickly become of the Australia’s most popular SUVs.

Meanwhile, Holden had all but run out of Colorado utility vehicles – there has been a six month “blackout” of production because the factory was affected by the Thailand floods as it was switching to a new model – and Holden hasn’t been able to get enough Korean-made Barina small cars to meet demand.

The official new-car sales figures are due out later this week, but the early data shows Australians continue to stay away from large cars in droves.

Holden sold fewer than 3000 Commodores while Ford sold approximately 1000 Falcons and 1100 Territory SUVs.