VFACTS victors

Which car companies outstripped market growth last year? New names and some not so new were among the big winners

2010 was a strong year in sales for the local automotive industry. Private and corporate buyers alike were caught up in the rush to score a new vehicle -- often at substantially lower prices than even the (already discounted) advertised figures.

Despite the bargain-savvy buyers twisting arms in dealer showrooms, the added sales don't appear to have come at the expense of profit. If anything, added sales have boosted the overall profit for some of the industry's key players, despite the discounting required to push cars out the door.

"We'll see the figures on profitability for 2010 emerge during the course of coming months," said Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) Chief Executive, Andrew McKellar (pictured) last week.

"I think the anecdotal reports that we are receiving is that the market has been more profitable in 2010... There is a sense that [senior finance directors and managers in the industry] have achieved far better outcomes in that regard."

We'll have to wait for companies to issue their financial reports for this year, but rumour is that both Ford and Holden expect to post a profit.

In the meantime, we can bring you our list of "winners" for 2010, based on sales growth alone. It works like this: the whole market expanded by 10.5 per cent overall, compared with the figure for 2009. Any car company recording sales growth exceeding 10.5 per cent has really kicked goals -- not just broken even or enjoyed moderate sales growth.

Leaving aside the low-volume superexotics, the list is arranged in descending order of growth expressed as a percentage, with the actual number of sales for the year listed alongside, in brackets.

Great Wall 250.8% (6690)
The Chinese brand has gained by being the new kid on the block. 2010 was the company's first full year on sale in Australia, so the percentages were always bound to be way out there. The SA220 has not sold significantly better than it did in 2009, but that's more than offset by the V240, which more than doubled its sales during its second year. But it's the X240 SUV that is on fire. It has accounted for nearly half all Great Wall sales for 2010, proving that Aussies love SUVs and an unknown quantity is no hurdle when the price is that good.

Isuzu Ute 43.4% (5114)
The importer is selling well above its 4000-unit forecast originally announced during the brand's launch back near the end of 2008. That's with what is generally regarded as an old product -- a new model something like 12 months or more in the future. This is a true success story, with the 4x4 D-MAX really hitting its stride last year. Sales of the offroad variants lifted from 2555 in 2009 to 4029 in 2010. With a small dealer network, that's a strong showing.

Jeep 42.5% (5975)
Of the three Chrysler brands in Australia, Jeep has gained most by being the offroad/SUV marque. In percentage terms Jeep sales have picked up as much as they have because Chrysler factories supplying the product for the Australian market are now in production again -- after a mandated shut-down for two months during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. This left Chrysler Australia without stock and, along with the time required to ship vehicles to Australia, there was some delay in filling local customers' orders. These problems have been overcome since and Patriot has nearly doubled its sales, to use one example. Wrangler sales are up over 40 per cent and the Cherokee is running 60 per cent better than in 2009.

Skoda 31.9% (1652)
Still not selling huge numbers, Skoda has gained ground and there are signs that the brand is establishing itself properly. Octavia remains a handy seller, 21.7 per cent improved on 2009, and the Superb has produced a fairly amazing jump in sales from 123 in 2009 to 355 in 2010 -- possibly helped by the wagon variant.

Hyundai 26.6% (80,038)
A few new models fleshed out the volume importer's sales to set a new record in 2010, but the performance of existing models was no less impressive. Key models in the Hyundai line-up built substantial sales on the previous year's numbers; including the iLoad (up 60 per cent), iMAX (up 133.6 per cent!), i30 (up 39 per cent) and Santa Fe (up 100 per cent). The i20 didn't detract from sales of the aging Getz, still 1904 units ahead of 2009. Not on sale for the full year, the ix35's 7202 sales in 2010 bode well for the future.

Volkswagen 26.4% (38,016)
Golf VI has done wonders for VW, as have Polo and Tiguan. Cumulatively, the three popular models have added 6589 units to Volkswagen's total for 2010 -- a new record for the company in the local market.

Land Rover% 25.6 (4789)
While all Land Rover models saw an overall sales increase in 2010 (even the Defender), it was the Discovery 4 and Range Rover Sport that did the real damage. The two SUVs contributed extra sales worth between 300 and 400 units each for the year.

Porsche 23.5% (1266)
In total, the German prestige brand barely made it into four figures during 2009 (1025), so an extra 241 vehicles sold in 2010 makes a major difference in percentage terms. Mostly, Porsche appears to found buyers with more discretionary capital at their disposal in 2010. The Cayenne was the only new model introduced during 2010, but sales were only marginally ahead of 2009 (562 sold) in 2010 (598). Sales principally grew from the Panamera (a low base, being introduced late in 2009) and the 911.

Kia 22.9% (23,848)
It appears that Kia can do little wrong. Only the Rondo went backwards in 2010. Practically every other model has gone from strength to strength, with the Sportage's performance being exemplary. Even though the new model was only on sale near the end of 2010, Sportage sales for the year (3073) were 1162 ahead of 2009. That was roughly a quarter of Kia's total sales upswing for the year. Other vehicles that contributed were the updated Carnival, the new Cerato hatch, Cerato Koup, the recently updated Rio and the Sorento SUV.

Suzuki 22.1% (24,789)
Yet another record set by the importer, despite Suzuki actually watching some models lose ground in 2010. Overall sales rose by nearly 4500, thanks to the Alto, the Swift and the new Kizashi. The Kizashi contributed over 1400 units and the Alto, which had its equipment remixed after launch, sold 4077 for the full year. For the latter half of 2009 that it was available, the Alto sold 814.

Nissan 18.5% (62,676)
2010 was a very good year for Nissan. The percentage increase shows it, as do the additional 9775 units sold. Dualis was the big mover, up 4277 units to 6592 for the year. Maxima was on the rise, but providing the real support for Dualis were the new Micra (up 3234 units to 8341), revised Navara 4x4 (up 2969 to 19,424) and the X-TRAIL (rising 1917 units to 9792 for the year). Some models slid, with Tiida falling ever lower.

Mercedes-Benz 17.5% (21,748)
After reworking the model mix, pricing and equipment, Benz watched its B-Class model run away in 2010, with sales well ahead of the combined A-Class and B-Class sales for 2009. E-Class sedan added nearly 500 extra sales and the M-Class SUV grew by 839 units to 2589 sales for 2010.

Proton 16.1% (1898)
Most models in the Proton range have either held steady (Gen.2), but more likely lost sales in the transition from 2009 to 2010. The one car that has helped the importer raise its total sales volumes in 2010 was the S16, which accounted for something like 47 per cent of the brand's total sales in Australia (892). Being the entry-level model in the range, the S16's sales volumes grew by nearly 188 per cent, due to the car not being on sale for the full year, 2009.

Audi 14.1% (12,900)
No other brand in the market has enjoyed the continuous sales growth with each passing year that Audi has. 2010 was yet another new record for sales in the local market. For the year, the prestige brand added 1590 vehicles to its 2010 sales tally, the A5 Sportback and the Q5 primarily compensating for other models that had lost ground during the year. The former contributed a handy 1034 extra units and the Q5 came up with an extra 784. Sales of A3, A5 (coupe/convertible) and new A8 bolstered the sales growth also, but other models all dropped back a little. The A4, which lost 310 sales, may have been 'cannibalised' by the A5 Sportback.

Lexus 11.8% (6526)
The most popular model in the Lexus range during 2010 was the IS. Whether it was the new IS 350 (228 cars sold for the year), the IS 250 C (an extra 255 sold), the IS 250 sedan (267 additional units) or even the high-spec IS F (nine more than in 2009), it was the compact range that jumped through hoops in 2010. Most other models did not hold up so well.

MINI 11.7% (2267)
In 2009 MINI sold 2030 vehicles in Australia, so the extra 237 in 2010 helped the niche-market brand outperform the market in percentage terms. Of the extra vehicles sold, 60 were Cabrios and the rest were MINI Coopers, according to VFACTS.

Holden 11.2% (132,923)
When the company is the second-most popular brand in the market, an 11.2 per cent increase in sales is not to be sneezed at. That percentage gain amounts to 13,355 additional vehicles sold in 2010. Cruze has been a real player for Holden. The small car, soon to be built here, found an extra 15,744 homes in 2010 -- more than compensating for the loss of the 6266 Astras sold in 2009. Commodore and Caprice sales remain ahead of 2009's, Barina picked up an extra 2393 sales, Barina Spark has added a further 1113 to that and Captiva 5 has pumped up the total with over 4000 more units.

Honourable mentions: Mazda (9.1% growth), Mitsubishi and Subaru (both 9.6% growth).

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