Vfacts February 2011

[Road_Warrior]

This new LPG system and Ecoboost can't come soon enough for the Falcon.

[JPFS1]

Not too bad to be honest... Sure Falc is on a low at the moment..

but let's wait for the updates and the gas to come back online (and maybe even XR8) then we can reassess...?

But hey, even with those low numbers, Ford might even turn a profit!

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Brazen

holden need to get their dedicated lpg into the wagon somehow, even if they got half of the old 400 fleet falcon wagons a month it would be worth it.

No companies like Telstra and Siemens need space in the back. I know seimens has moved to the Mondeo. Telstra I believe have taken a ute with canopy now.

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Did a bit of a small round trip out of Melb and back on Tuesday, say 300km total and I was really surprised at the number of new Commodore sedans and wagons in the carparks of different government "type" bodies such as SES, .

SES is not sponsored by the government, they actually get money from AAMI. Also Ford give them staff discounts for their vehicles.

[bobthebilda]

Originally Posted by vztrt

SES is not sponsored by the government, they actually get money from AAMI. Also Ford give them staff discounts for their vehicles.

Although mainly a volunteer organisation (and survive on great deal of donations), they do come under various acts of government and are suplemented by government money. There own webpage for Vic SES says.

During 1979, the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services was created. Its branches included Victoria Police (VICPOL), Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES).

But I guess i see the method in their madness, the greater the distance they procure their cars from, the more they add to climate change, and the more business they get. Sort of like a Glazier going out and breaking windows.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by vztrt

No companies like Telstra and Siemens need space in the back. I know seimens has moved to the Mondeo. Telstra I believe have taken a ute with canopy now.

For some companies where every sq cm is crucial, they are probably going to go for a van or can only operate with a Falcon wagon. But most other fleets, the cargo literage is all semantics. Unless your transporting unpackaged ping-pong balls up to the roof, a Sportwagon will be just as much be fit-to-purpose as a Mondeo. The wagon body simply gives them more room and versatility. I still think a LPG Sportwagon will sell healthily to many fleets.

Speaking of wagons, I hear Cruze will be getting a wagon variant on the back of strong Commodore Sportwagon sales, although I think this will be imported and not locally produced, but who knows.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Brazen

For some companies where every sq cm is crucial, they are probably going to go for a van or can only operate with a Falcon wagon. But most other fleets, the cargo literage is all semantics. Unless your transporting unpackaged ping-pong balls up to the roof, a Sportwagon will be just as much be fit-to-purpose as a Mondeo. The wagon body simply gives them more room and versatility. I still think a LPG Sportwagon will sell healthily to many fleets.

Well seeing as Telstra bought the majority of the Wagons I would say the sportwagon will not be for them. LPG sportswagon would be better for the rising fuel prices.

[Ducati888]

Why are Holden selling Epica along side Cruze? They are the same size and segment.

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by Ducati888

Why are Holden selling Epica along side Cruze? They are the same size and segment.

Epica is finished. They arent the same segment either.

Epica was the Mondeo competitor
Cruze is the Focus competitor


Fairly good month for Mondeo and Fiesta. Dont forget Ford is up on last year even with the low Falcon sales. It looks like the rest of the Ford range is starting to pull its weight. Just need the new Focus and Ranger to come.

[Brazen]

holden need to get their dedicated lpg into the wagon somehow, even if they got half of the old 400 fleet falcon wagons a month it would be worth it.

[vztrt]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...303-1bfl3.html

Buyers flock to thirsty 4WDs Richard Blackburn
March 3, 2011 - 12:19PM

The threat of higher petrol prices has done little to dampen enthusiasm for fuel-guzzling 4WDs.

Economists may be predicting petrol will hit the $1.50 mark soon, but that hasn’t stopped Australian car buyers lining up for the thirstiest cars on the market.

Figures released today show that large SUVs bucked the overall softening in the new-car market last month, with sales jumping by more than a third.

Sales of the V8-powered Toyota LandCruiser are up by a quarter so far this year, Nissan Patrol sales doubled last month. Luxury SUVs and four-wheel-drive utes also recorded healthy increases in sales in February.

Advertisement: Story continues below In contrast, sales of the fuel-sipping Toyota Prius hybrid - which uses roughly one-quarter the fuel of the petrol-powered LandCruiser - are down by more than half. Australia’s only home-grown hybrid, the Toyota Camry, also appears to be struggling to attract buyers.

Toyota doesn’t publish sales figures for the hybrid version, but overall Camry sales are down by more than 20 per cent this year and the Hybrid managed just 273 sales in January.

The love of petrol guzzlers hasn’t spread to locally-produced six-cylinder cars, though, with sales of locally made vehicles down by more than 20 per cent in the face of an onslaught of cheaper vehicles from Thailand.

Sales of Ford’s Falcon have slumped to an all-time low, with buyers down by more than a third this year. In the past five years, sales of locally-produced Fords have dropped by more than half, placing the future of the Falcon – and the Territory SUV it’s based on - in doubt.

Holden’s Commodore reclaimed top spot on the sales chart for February, but the large car still trails the smaller Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla in year-to-date sales.

Toyota remains the country’s number one brand, ahead of Holden, although both brands suffered declines in market share. Ford has slipped below Mazda in the pecking order.

The chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry, Andrew McKellar, says the market remains strong despite the overall decline in sales.

He says sales to private retail customers are stronger than business and government sales, a good sign for car makers.

“This is an encouraging indicator of the market and reflects a strong level of economic confidence,” he said.

Queensland sales appear to have recovered from the floods, although they remain down by 7.5 per cent year-to-date.

[bobthebilda]

Maybe something Ford is going to have an advantage over Holden is that Ford now only make
591 ute, 1572 Falcon, 779 territory 2942 of the local sales of 7602 cars in Australia (38.7%)

Holden will be making 168 caprice, 3829 commy, 2582 cruze, 814 ute 7383 of the local sales of 10314 cars in australia (71.6%).

Its going to make it very difficult for Holden to compete on price, especially with the Oz dollar where it is now.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by bobthebilda

Maybe something Ford is going to have an advantage over Holden is that Ford now only make
591 ute, 1572 Falcon, 779 territory 2942 of the local sales of 7602 cars in Australia (38.7%)

Holden will be making 168 caprice, 3829 commy, 2582 cruze, 814 ute 7383 of the local sales of 10314 cars in australia (71.6%).

Its going to make it very difficult for Holden to compete on price, especially with the Oz dollar where it is now.

With a significant amount of Commodore drivetrain from the US, and most asian countries have their components bought in US dollars, its probably never been cheaper to build a Commodore.

Anyway exhange rates go up and down, Canada is meant to be the next big thing, so we will probably see the Aussie back in the 80s eventually, quick if the rest of the world starts lifting interest rates - probably in the EU by mid year.

[jpd80]

Surprisingly, Ford sales were up 6% compared to last year even though Falcon/Territory seem to be low..
It's looking more like Fiesta/Focus/Mondeo/Ranger/Escape are picking up the slack and replacing local sales.

From that view, Ford is getting the right vehicles to people while waiting on new Territory and FG II.

I think Holden have bigger problems with sales down significantly compared to last year,
I know who's shoes I'd rather be in....

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by bobthebilda

Maybe something Ford is going to have an advantage over Holden is that Ford now only make
591 ute, 1572 Falcon, 779 territory 2942 of the local sales of 7602 cars in Australia (38.7%)

Holden will be making 168 caprice, 3829 commy, 2582 cruze, 814 ute 7383 of the local sales of 10314 cars in australia (71.6%).

Its going to make it very difficult for Holden to compete on price, especially with the Oz dollar where it is now.

I wonder what retail price would be if Falcon and Commodore were built in Thailand,
we all might get a rude shock if it was about $30,000, that would really change the
market view quick smart and probably make large cars a lot more popular.

More than just Falcon, Ford needs success with Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo, Ranger, Escape, Territory
it has to be a team effort and not just one car pulling the lot along...

[prydey]

i looked through last months thread but these were the only individual model figures i could find.

JAN 2011
Falcon - 1157
Falcon Ute - 479
Fiesta - 1,127
Focus - 1,057
Territory - 673

FEB 2011
Ford Falcon 1,572
Ford Falcon Ute 591
Ford Fiesta 1,160
Ford Focus 1,050
Ford Territory 779

all except focus have improved which is good for Ford. if this trend continues Ford will 'carry' falcon for a while if its not making money in its own right.

overall sales were about 6400units last month too so they are about 1200 units up on last month.

[Brazen]

Does anyone have a list of the top sellers?

[Brazen]

Top 10 sales by model:

1.Holden Commodore – 3829
2.Mazda3 – 3575
3.Toyota HiLux – 2892
4.Hyundai i30 – 2654
5.Toyota Corolla – 2600
6.Holden Cruze – 2582
7.Nissan Navara – 2207
8.(=8.) Ford Falcon – 1572
9.(=8.) Mazda2 – 1572
10.Mitsubishi Lancer – 1561

[deesun]

The article suggests people still flocking to 4wd's but anyone buying one would have ordered it and taken delivery of most well before the current set of petrol price hikes. And with the problems in Lybia set to continue prices will only get worse. The next months figures will be more telling for that.

[EFFalcon]

Things are looking very sorry for the Falcon.
Cruze says it all.

[csv8]

Why aren't alarm bells going beserk at Ford HQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by csv8

Why aren't alarm bells going beserk at Ford HQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because Marin Burela is in China........... The invisible man ( Graziano ) is probably too busy trying to purchase a big lock and key for the main gates at Ford for when it shuts.

[bobthebilda]

Originally Posted by csv8

Why aren't alarm bells going beserk at Ford HQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because Ford wordwide HQ aint looking at the small picture (ie Australia). At 5.5 million cars a year, I would think they might have the receptionist at Dearborn going over the 30,000 sales data of the Falcon and Territory.

Seriously, look at the company you work for, work out what item makes up .54% (yes thats POINT 54%), and think of if anyone really gives rats A$$. Especially if it aint making money.

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/107997/f...off-2010-pace/

February 2011 VFACTS: New vehicle sales off 2010 pace
By Tim Beissmann | March 3rd, 2011

The Australian automotive industry has continued its quiet start to the year, with February’s new vehicle sales figures largely mirroring the trends of January.

Official VFACTS data released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 80,896 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in February 2011, down 1.6 percent (1323 vehicles) compared with February 2010.

The Holden Commodore took back top spot after finishing third behind the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda3 in January. The Falcon also climbed back into the top 10 after plummeting to 13th position in January in its worst monthly sales result in recent history.

The Corolla came back to Earth after Toyota’s cut-price financing offer dried up on January 31.

Top 10 sales by model:

1. Holden Commodore – 3829
2. Mazda3 – 3575
3. Toyota HiLux – 2892
4. Hyundai i30 – 2654
5. Toyota Corolla – 2600
6. Holden Cruze – 2582
7. Nissan Navara – 2207
8. (=8.) Ford Falcon – 1572
9. (=8.) Mazda2 – 1572
10. Mitsubishi Lancer – 1561

Toyota maintained its lead at the top of the sales charts, but Holden was the biggest mover compared with January. It climbed just shy of 2000 units for the month, clearly establishing it as the second-most-popular brand in the country.

No brands changed position in the top 10 in February, with Mazda continuing to hold off Ford in third place overall.

Top 10 sales by marque:

1. Toyota – 14,604
2. Holden – 10,314
3. Mazda – 7644
4. Ford – 7602
5. Hyundai – 6607
6. Nissan – 5593
7. Mitsubishi – 5118
8. Subaru – 3299
9. Volkswagen – 3122
10. Honda – 2585

Dodge (up 85.6 percent), Great Wall (33.0 percent), Land Rover (22.1 percent), Mazda (8.7 percent), Mitsubishi (6.5 percent), Nissan (19.8 percent), Subaru (17.3 percent) and Volvo (16.2 percent) are among the major manufacturer to be well ahead of last year.

The start of 2011 has been harder on BMW (down 21.8 percent), Holden (-13.8 percent), Honda (-21.2 percent), Lexus (-8.9 percent), Mercedes-Benz (-18.4 percent), MINI (-18.1 percent) and Toyota (-6.2 percent), with all of those brand slipping off their 2010 pace.

Ford (1.0 percent), Hyundai (-3.0 percent), Kia (1.4 percent), Subaru (4.5 percent) and Volkswagen (3.7 percent) have been largely stable.

Although cumulative 2011 figures are 1.7 percent (or 2603 vehicles) below the first two months of 2010, FCAI chief executive, Andrew McKellar, was upbeat about the strength of the private vehicle sector.

“Sales to private customers increased 4.1 percent during February to total 39,776 units – outselling business and fleet purchases,” Mr McKellar said.

“This is an encouraging indicator of the market and reflects a strong level of economic confidence.”

Sales in Queensland increased in February as the state continued to pick itself up after the floods, and were just 2.8 percent off the same month in 2010.

“We expect further growth in that state in the coming months as people replace their damaged vehicles,” Mr McKellar said.

Tasmania has been the worst performing state so far this year. Sales have decreased 12.8 percent in the Apple Isle, followed by Queensland (-7.5 percent), South Australia (-4.6 percent) and Western Australia (-3.4 percent).

New South Wales and the Northern Territory have been steady, while Victoria (2.6 percent) and the ACT (3.4 percent) have been the biggest risers.

Diversity was the flavour of February, with the top 20 models all selling more than 1000 units.

Five light cars and seven small cars made it into the top 20. The light car segment is up 5.3 percent compared with 2010, and the small car segment is up 6.7 seconds. The two segments now account for 39.9 percent of the total new vehicle market.

The compact SUV segment is the third-highest-selling segment in the country, with 11.6 percent of all vehicles sold belonging to this category. The Subaru Forester (1221) and the Toyota RAV4 (1402) led the way in February, and another six vehicles sold more than 500 units for the month.

The Commodore surged back into top spot with 3829 sales. The big Holden commands the large car segment, with a 57.1 percent share. Holden also sold 814 Commodore-based Utes and 168 Caprice models.

Falcon sales increased significantly from the 1157 January low, adding 415 units in February to finish on 1572. After two months in 2010, Ford had delivered 4832 Falcons, 43.5 percent more than the 2729 registered so far this year.

Falcon sales will have to average 1721 for the next 10 months if the Blue Oval’s large car is to break the 20,000 mark for the year, and 2679 per month if it wants to meet last year’s figure of 29,516.

While large cars are down 22.8 percent this year, medium cars are also slipping out of favour, with sales down 13.4 percent.

The Toyota Camry is the only model holding the segment up, accounting for 39.9 percent of the category. The Ford Mondeo (735) and the Mazda6 (519) were the only other strong performers for the month.

Year-to-date, 17,270 locally manufactured vehicles have been sold in 2011, down from 21,971 in 2010.

Of the 154,480 total vehicles sold so far, 55,310 have come from Japan (up 0.2 percent), 25,866 from Thailand (up 14.2 percent) and 24,544 from Korea (down 9.6 percent).

[bobthebilda]

The Toyota Camry is the only model holding the segment up, accounting for 39.9 percent of the category. The Ford Mondeo (735) and the Mazda6 (519) were the only other strong performers for the month.

medium cars sold 6000 units last month, making camry's total 40% of 6000 = 2400.

Yet they arent included in the top 10 ??????

[ivorya]

B4 all the doom and gloom,

Is it possible people are still hanging out for Diesel Territory, New Focus, LPi Falcon and Ecoboost Falcon.

I think we'll get a better picture at the end and start of next yr when all of FORDS cards have been shown.

Marketing of these products........ well thats another story!

[bobthebilda]

If they are offering on average $3800 incentives on each car and zero percent finance over 5 years, then theres probably a good chance they will be bankrupt again in 2 years. Ford just has to sit it out like they did last time.

[Resurrection]

Originally Posted by bobthebilda

If they are offering on average $3800 incentives on each car and zero percent finance over 5 years, then theres probably a good chance they will be bankrupt again in 2 years. Ford just has to sit it out like they did last time.

The US government will not allow GM to go bankrupt.

[bobthebilda]

Originally Posted by Resurrection

The US government will not allow GM to go bankrupt.

The US government is already sitting on over a $10 billion loss on GM shares (if they were to sell all of them now). And are facing a hefty loss on the old GM financing arm. I think at the time, they thought some of the banks and car makers were too big to fail, but things have changed a bit since then.

On 4th March the US government shuts down (or goes into emergency mode), due to budget not getting approval. The Fed government is sitting on a $14.2 trillion dollar debt (currently increasing at over $1 trillion a year), and the states more on top of that. I dont think it would be possibe for a bankrupt government to bail out a bankrupt company.

[Resurrection]

Ben Bernanke will just print more US dollars to pay these debts.

[naddis01]

It has been a shocking year so far for Falcon or even past 6 months really. On a positive note that that is Mondeo's BEST EVER month (well according to the tech resources on this site) and 3rd or 4th best for Fiesta.