New vehicle sales fall in October
New motor vehicles sales fell 3.6 per cent in October, after passing 100,000 for the first time the month before.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said new vehicle sales fell to 96,925 in the month, seasonally adjusted, compared to 100,537 in September.
Sales of sports utility vehicles decreased by 2.6 per cent in October and passenger vehicles fell 7.6 per cent.
In the year to October, total sales were up 4.2 per cent.
In trend terms, which smooths data for monthly volatility, vehicle sales have increased 5.5 per cent in the past 12 months.
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Cars have remained well priced in Australia, despite the Australian dollar losing around 30 per cent of its value against the US dollar, because many car manufacturers are based in countries whose currencies have also fallen, such as Thailand, Korea and Japan.
New car purchases plummeted in 2009 to around 70,000 units, due to the uncertainty of the credit-crunch phase of the global financial crisis. Sales have increased gradually from around 90,000 a month in 2010 to 96,925 last month.