Australian new car sales plummeted in February according to figures released by the FCAI, showing a 9.3% drop compared to February 2018 with commercial vehicles taking the top three sales spots.

Australian new car sales in February fell 9.3% compared with the same month last year (2018), with a total of 87,102 new cars sold. This fall in sales has contributed to a year-to-date drop of 8.4% compared to the first two months of 2018.

In announcing the results, Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, said: “Given the current challenging economic conditions, including a downturn in the housing market, the automotive industry is not surprised by the slower start to the year.”

And the dip in sales affected some brands more than others with Toyota HiLux, once again, topping sales for the month, recording 4431 vehicles sold, up on the same month in 2018. Indeed, HiLux on its own outsold Holden which realised just 3825 sales in total for the month of February. By way of comparison, Holden sold more than 10,000 vehicles in February 2018.

With the HiLux leading the charge the light commercial vehicle market was the only segment to show growth in February (up 6.0%). The passenger vehicle market decreased by 21.3% and even SUVs  dropped off with a decline of 6.3% compared with February 2018.

The three top selling vehicles in the market were the Toyota HiLux with 4431 sales, Ford Ranger with 3377 sales and the Mitsubishi Triton with 3155 sales. The top selling passenger vehicle was the Mazda 3, with 2655 sales during the month.