KEY POINTS:
The new vehicle market continues its buoyant performance with November sales running at close to record levels.
Last month, 6723 new cars were sold, 7 per cent up on the same period last year and the biggest November for 18 years. New commercial vehicle sales were even stronger with sales of 2234 units, 19.7 per cent up on November 2006.
Perry Kerr, CEO of the Motor Industry Association, said the sector would have to go back to 1982 to find a November in which more new commercial vehicles were sold.
At the end of last month, 95,204 new vehicles had been sold in 2007, an increase of 2.5 per cent on the same period in 2006.
With about three weeks of the year left, 2007 is on target to challenge 2005 as the biggest year for new vehicles since the market started recovering from the effect of used imports.
Kerr said the new vehicle sector continued to progress with confidence. It wasn't just a reflection of the state of the economy, but a long-term structural change as the market continued to move away from the influence of used car imports. which had such an impact during the nineties.
Toyota remains market leader in passenger car and commercial vehicle sales and is about to end its 20th year in a row as market leader.
Holden Commodore stretched its lead over Toyota Corolla as the country's top-selling individual model year to date, although Ford Falcon took the November honours. Ford also came within two units of unseating Toyota in passenger car sales.
