VFacts March..Commy 85% sales increase!!! Falcon !!!!

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The Holden Commodore has posted its third-best result in 10 months but the Cruze has taken a hit.

THE Holden Commodore has made a surprising recovery in the March sales race with a staggering 85 per cent sales increase compared with the same month the prior year -- narrowly missing a place on the podium as the nation’s fourth most popular car. Preliminary figures show it was the Commodore’s third-best monthly sales tally since the new VF model went on sale 10 months ago, as the Holden brand overall posted a 19 per cent sales surge.



However, the sharp percentage increase is due to the Commodore posting its second-lowest monthly result ever in March last year (1606 sales). The Commodore’s tally for March this year of 2965 sales is still down compared with the 2012 figure of 3200 deliveries. But the Commodore’s old arch rival, the Ford Falcon, continued to rank well outside the Top 10, with just 640 deliveries.

The Cruze small car that is built alongside the Commodore had a tough run, with sales down 30 per cent on the same month last year -- about half the sales rate as the same month just two years ago. March is typically the second-biggest month for new-car sales as the Japanese brands have a surge in the lead-up to the end of the Japanese financial year, which closed on March 31. The sharp discounting prompts even the non-Japanese brands to compete.

Last year’s top-selling car, the Toyota Corolla, led the March sales according to preliminary figures -- but the Mazda3 small car, which was the market leader in January and February, still leads the year-to-date tally. The third-placed Toyota HiLux ute again squeezed the Commodore off the podium in March. But the Commodore still managed to outsell the popular Hyundai i30, Ford Ranger ute and Toyota Camry sedan.

The Commodore also proved more popular than the updated Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 SUVs, which ranked just inside the Top 10 sellers list for March. Preliminary figures show the new-car market continues to be in a slump, with deliveries down by almost 4 per cent.

But the downturn has been exaggerated by Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi, which have all posted massive sales slowdowns for the first three months of this year, likely because their dealer networks are still clearing cars that were declared as sold in 2013. Official sales figures for March are expected to be released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries later in the week.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...02?origin=hpc1

Reminds me of the film Field of Dreams..Build it and they will come .
My wife's sister bought the i30 Trophy , last week, she drove a Focus Trend and chose the i30..why ? value for the money. What made her choose the i30 was servicing costs. i30 $219..Focus $335. 5 year unlimited km warranty, what she got for the money, $24k drive away...2 week wait for the i30 in Wait Awhile...