Car sales enjoyed a better month in August, despite the ending of some tax assistance at June 30.
Sales bounced back after the easing in July in the wake of the end of one of the tax credits for medium business.
The 50% investment allowance for small business (up to $2 million) remains in place until the end of the year and will see a big marketing campaign in November and December from the industry to try and clear unsold stocks.
That will also be good for print, radio and TV media, if the May-June sales blitz is any guide.
If successful, it might be enough to push sales back to rough parity with 2008 by the end of the year, which would be very solid outcome given sales were down more than 20% in the March quarter of this year from the first quarter of 2008.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday that sales rose 0.3% from July, but were still down almost 7% from August of last year.
But that was better than the 10% fall in the year to July, which indicates confidence continues to improve among car buyers, helped with the tax cut for small businesses.
Car sales seem to be a bit more resilient than general retail sales which fell in August.
It seems to be the tax deduction (investment allowance) that’s keeping them buoyant.
The ABS said sales rose to 75,388 in August, compared to more than 81,700 a year ago.
This compares to a 6.9% fall in total vehicle sales, to 75,133 units, in July after the sales surge in June to grab the about to disappear tax allowance..
The ABS said passenger vehicle sales rose for the fifth straight month to a seasonally adjusted 45,543 units in August, up almost 10% since March.
The ABS said that seasonally adjusted "sales of two of the three vehicle types increased in August 2009 with July.
"Passenger vehicles increased by 1.0% and other vehicles increased 0.8%. Sports utility vehicles decreased 1.9% over that period.
"Sales of all three vehicle types have decreased in seasonally adjusted terms when comparing August 2009 to August 2008.
"Other vehicles decreased by 16.5%, passenger vehicles was down 3.8% and sports utility vehicles was down 1.7%."
Across the states, the ABS said that seasonally adjusted sales increased in six of the states or territories in August 2009 compared to July 2009.
"Tasmania recorded the largest percentage increase, rising 12.5%, followed by New South Wales, rising 1.5%. Victoria and the Northern Territory decreased 2.1% and 1.8% respectively over this period."
