Australia is expected to set a new car sales record in 2103. If it does, this will be the second year in a row that the record has been broken.
News.com.au reports that Australians bought 1,112,032 last year. According to Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing Tony Cramb, this year that figure is likely to be surpassed and the nation will buy around 1,140,000 vehicles.
If this estimate proves correct, it will be just the second time it will have passed the 1.1 million mark and the sixth time it passed the 1 million mark in seven years.
The high figure comes despite the perceived damage done to the industry by the previous Federal Government’s proposed changes to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) regime.
Many within the automotive industry blamed the changes for a drop in car sales in October. According to Toyota, the policy cut sales by up to 10,000 vehicles in three months.
“It’s definitely cost us,” said Cramb.
“The fleets aren’t back yet. Until the Federal Government formally announced the changes weren’t going ahead, a lot of companies were sceptical, sitting on their hands, and extending leases.
“This year, sales to business are likely to be static or even fall, even though they were running four per cent ahead of last year at the end of June. It’s not hard to see where the turnaround occurred.”