Queensland ‘s love for the large car segment was on display as new car sales figures for 2014 show a clear move away from smaller cars, with more drivers opting to get behind the wheel of larger people movers, says the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ)
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) statistics revealed sales of micro and light cars had dropped by as much as 33% compared to the same time last year, while large vehicles and people movers up by 15% and 25% respectively.
Releasing the June 2014 VFACTS figures, the FCAI says: “Private purchases of SUVs continue to be strong with June 2014 sales up 25.1%, compared to June 2013; and year-to-date private purchases of SUVs up 14.2%. Small and large SUVs were popular in June with small SUV sales up 14.2% (1180 units), compared to June 2013; and large SUVs up 12.6% (1510).
RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie says considering the soaring costs to run a vehicle in Queensland, the results were surprising.
“It’s quite interesting to see drivers are still putting an emphasis on size of car rather than the economics,” say Ritchie.
“With the cost of fuel continuing to rise, not to mention servicing costs, registration and insurance, it can be very expensive to keep a car on the road. But if motorists are serious about tightening their family budget, downsizing to a smaller car makes a huge difference.”
Ritchie says the RACQ’s recent annual vehicle running costs survey of 108 cars found a micro vehicle can cost around $119 per week to run versus a large car which can cost double that or more.
A key example is in the small SUV class where even in the same class prices can vary between one make and the other, for example, the Ford Ecosport Ambiente Auto wagon is the cheapest to run at $168.72 per week, while the most expensive is the Subaru XV 2.0i 2L CVT 4dr wagon, which costs $212.03 per week to run, a difference of over $40 per week.
It’s a similar scenario in the medium car class with the Volkswagen Jetta 118 TSI the cheapest to run on a weekly basis at $188.43 compared to the Mazda6 Touring which costs $241.72 per week.
Interestingly, electric vehicles are some of the most expensive to drive with the Mitsubishi ZJ Outlander PHEV Hybrid 2.0L CVT 4dr wagon costing $252.92 to run per week, while the Holden Volt EV costs $287.80 per week, the Nissan Leaf comes in at $258 per week.
“There are always a lot of factors to consider when choosing a new car, and ultimately it comes down to personal choice. But drivers who want to reduce their expenses should be seriously considering the overall running costs,” says Ritchie.
Examples from the RACQ Survey findings include:
· The most expensive car is the Toyota Landcruiser GXL (4×4) 4.5L V8 T/diesel 6sp auto 4WD wagon, which costs $404.87 to run per week;
· The cheapest car on the list is the Suzuki Alto GL 1.0L 5sp Manual 5-door hatch, which costs $119.95 to run per week;
· In the small car class the the Holden Cruze Equipe 1.8L 6sp Auto 5-door hatch costs $162.69 to run per week;
· In the prestige car category (three cars were surveyed), the BMW F30 320i 2L Turbo 8sp Auto 4dr sedan costs $302.79 to run per week, the Audi A4 1.8 TFSI costs $302.60, and the Mercedes-Benz C200 costs $324.35 .
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