Ask just about any small business here in Australia and they’ll tell you that they’re doing it tough. Costs are up … income is down and many are wondering if they will survive.
Of course that’s all masked by the ongoing mining boom that continues to push Australia’s economy along at a roaring pace.
In case you don’t think that small business isn’t doing it tough the official sales data released by the Federal Champer of Automotive Industries for November will show how tough it is because sales in the light commercial segment decreased by 18.9 per cent compared to the same time last year.
However, the news isn’t all bad … in fact it’s quite good becase the data shows that 87,342 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in November, up 1.8 per cent (or 1,509 vehicles) on the same month in 2009.
“These figures show new car sales continue to outperform other economic indicators, including retail spending and business investment,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.
“Much of the strength of the market can be attributed to the affordability of new vehicles, evidenced by the healthy sales to private buyers (up 9.6% in November),” Mr McKellar said.
Year-to-date, 948,987 vehicles have been sold, an increase of 11.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2009.
“It is now clear that total sales for 2010 will safely exceed one million units – only the third time this will have been achieved,” he said.
The SUV segment was again the strongest performer during November, recording an increase of 13.3 per cent; followed by passenger cars (up 5 per cent) and then heavy commercials (up 6.2 per cent).
Toyota was the top selling marque in November with 19,911 sales; followed by Holden with 11,354 then, Ford with 7,844 units and Toyota is claiming that in November the best selling car in Australia was their Corolla with 765 more vehicles sold than their nearest rival.