New car sales in 2019: the biggest losses

Last year was a year that many brands will look to leave behind - 2019 has been a tough year for many car companies.

New car sales figures for 2019 have been announced and it's fair to say that the entire Australian market was one of the biggest losers last year.

Total sales fell 7.8% year-on-year, with 1,062,867 vehicles sold in 2019, the lowest since 2011.

That's one part of the story, but let's take a look at some of the other notable losers based on 2019 sales data.

We are going to address all brands that have fallen 20% or more on this list, but some other brands had a tough year in 2019, such as Audi (-19.1% to 15,708 sales), Honda (-14.9% sales). to 43,176 sales to 12.3), Nissan (-50,575% to 12.3 sales), Mazda (-97,619% to 12.0 sales to 8879), Land Rover (-15.1% ​​to 2274 sales), Jaguar (-19.9% ​​to 19.0 sales). Fiat (-XNUMX%) and Citroen (-XNUMX%) also struggled.

Anyway, on the list!

Alfa Romeo - 30.3% less.

If Alfa Romeo has a saving grace, it's that it was a big fall from a small base. The Alfa Romeo range continues to struggle to gain a foothold in Australia, with just 2019 vehicles sold in 891.

This is less than 1279 in 2018. This is despite the fact that 2019 was the first full year that the Stelvio SUV was sold here.

Even though Stelvio's sales topped last year's figure (390 sales vs. 347) and the retired 4C also had a good year (but still only 29 sales), it's clear the brand is in trouble.

Holden - 28.9% decrease

Holden's sales were the lowest in the company's history in 2019. Holden hit new all-time lows six times in 2019, with November marking the lowest monthly sales for the brand in its 71-year history in Australia.

At 43,176, Holden scored 2019 cars in 10, and yet it finished in the top XNUMX (only - it finished in tenth place behind the likes of Honda and VW), with standout performers including the Acadia large SUV and the Trailblazer SUV.

But, for a little context, Toyota sold more HiLux vehicles than Holden overall (47,649 40,960). And for those who still believe in Holden's arguments against Ford, the Ranger came perilously close to eclipsing Holden's entire sales figure (XNUMXXNUMX).

In December, Holden announced it was phasing out the Commodore and Astra models. It's now exclusively an SUV and import company, and with Commodore and Astra still accounting for about a quarter of all Holden sales in 2019, 2020 could again be an even tougher year for the General Motors-owned company.

Maserati - 24.9% less.

Italian brands are really taking a beating in Australia. At 482, Maserati managed to sell just 2019 vehicles, compared to 642 units a year earlier.

Every model in the Maserati lineup is down from last year – even the Levante SUV, which introduced the V8 engine at the end of '2019.

Jeep - 24.7% less.

Jeep had a terrible year in 2019. Sales dropped for all models except the all-new Wrangler, which was the company's second-biggest model last year.

Cherokee, Compass, Renegade, and Grand Cherokee all fell hard in 2019, with total brand sales of just 5519 units - up from 7326 in 2018 and a shadow of its former glory. Now people say, "Did they buy a Jeep?" for different reasons.

Aston Martin - 22.8% less.

Selling high-end luxury cars in a very tough market is never going to be easy, but given how new the DB11 is, we're sure Aston Martin expected more from its Australian operations.

The British brand sold just 129 vehicles in 2019, up from 167 in 2018. Perhaps with the release of the next Bond movie in 2020, the company will really hope that now is No Time To Die.

Subaru - 20.0% decrease.

The all-new Forester was supposed to show that Subaru performed better in 2019 than it actually did. The company is down a fifth of its sales compared to 2018, with sales of the BRZ, Impreza, Levorg, Liberty, Outback, WRX and XV falling.

Forester performed quite well, adding 21.4% year on year. But the Japanese company will no doubt try to stem the slump in 2020 – a refreshed Impreza and hybrid models for the XV and Forester lines should help.