We just love those Aussies

By ALASTAIR SLAONE

Is it Down Under mateship? A result of closer economic relations? What about cold beer and barbecues and rugby and cricket and Phar Lap and Russell Crowe and Pavlova? Do Elle Macpherson's occasional appearances here have anything to do with it?

Or is it because farmers in New Zealand are higher on the hog and buying the Made in Australia model they have stuck with for 50 or so years?

You guessed it - the cockies are largely behind Holden being the best-selling brand for the first three months of the year, relegating traditional market leaders Toyota and Ford to second and third places.

"Certainly the strong growth in the rural sector has helped in the sales success of the Commodore," says Holden New Zealand marketing executive Albert Van Ham.

"But we and our dealers approached the year with a great deal of confidence founded on the positive economic outlook and on the back of the company's sales performance last year.

"We will remain confident, too, despite the overall new-vehicle market being down about 12 per cent on the first quarter of last year.

"There are many reasons to stay buoyant. The continued acceptance of the Commodore, the arrival of the VU Ute later this month and the introduction of the all-new Barina mid-year positions Holden to further build its volume and market share.

"That, along with the fleet deal for the New Zealand police, plus the prospect of the Astra convertible and Monaro Coupe in showrooms at year's end, augers well for the company's success this year."

Holden is carrying on strong sales from 2000, its best year since 1987. After three months of this year it has sold 2563 vehicles - 1428 of which have been VX Commodores. This time last year it had sold 1210 VT Commodores. The updated VX model arrived last October.

Holden's overall market share for the first quarter of 2001, according to the Land Transport Safety Authority, was 15.3 per cent. Toyota was second with 2514 vehicles (15 per cent), Ford and its Commodore rival Falcon third with 2438 (14.6), followed by Nissan with 2025 (12.1) and Mitsubishi 1123 (6.7).

Sales of 880 cars (619 Commodores) for March alone gave Holden a leading 18.3 per cent share of the passenger-car market, compared with Ford's 657 sales (13.6) and Toyota's 639 (13.3).

Toyota has dominated commercial sales so far this year with 827 units for 23.8 per cent of the market. Ford is second with 749 (21.6) and Nissan third with 389 (11.2). Holden is fourth with 377 (10.9) followed by Mitsubishi with 333 (9.6).

BMW with 366 sales (2.2 per cent) is the leading European so far and leads the luxury sector from Mercedes-Benz with 303 (1.8) and Audi with 205 (1.2). Volkswagen, last year's top European, has sold 346 vehicles for 2.1 per cent.

Other carmakers' first quarter results include Honda 889 (5.3 per cent), Mazda 808 (4.8), Hyundai 722 (4.3), Suzuki 417 (2.5), Subaru 281 (1.7), Peugeot 249 (1.5), Daihatsu 203 (1.2), Rover 139 (0.8), Daewoo 99 (0.6), Chrysler 92 (0.6), Kia 22 (0.1). Brands like Citroen, Renault, Fiat, Saab, Volvo, Jaguar make up the remaining 918 sales (5.6).