Australia new vehicle sales slip in Jan - VFACTS

    SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Sales of new vehicles in Australia 
dipped in January as falling demand for commercial vehicles got 
the new year off to a soft start, though Mazda put in a strong 
performance, industry data showed on Wednesday. 
    Total vehicle sales in January were 82,285, a decrease of 
3.7 percent on the same month last year. According to the 
Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' VFACTS 
report sales were down 15 percent on December, though when 
adjusted for seasonal factors that equated to a fall of 4.1 
percent. 
    Weighing on the market was a sharp 12.9 percent drop in 
sales of light commercial vehicles. Even demand for sports 
utilities faded after a very strong 2013, with sales off 2.8 
percent on January last year. 
    For January alone, Toyota Motor Corp    retained first 
place on the sales ladder with a market share of 16.6 percent. 
    Mazda Motor Corp    had a brisk month to take its 
share up to 11.4 percent, pipping the local Holden unit of 
General Motors Co    at 10.8 percent. 
    Hyundai Motor Co    came fourth with 8.7 percent, 
ahead of Ford Motor Co    at 8.3 percent. 
     
    Details of the VFACTS report in original terms: 
               Jan      Dec    m/m pct   Jan/13  y/y pct      
    Sales     82,285   96,756  -15.0     85,430   -3.7  
 
    Sales by Type:         Jan '14/Jan '13 Volumes         
                            Change    Pct Change           
    Passenger Vehicles        -331       -0.8         
    Sports Utility            -755       -2.8     
    Light Commercial        -1,932      -12.9  
    Heavy Commercial          -127       -6.6 
 
 (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) 
 ((Wayne.Cole@thomsonreuters.com)(612 9373 1813)(Reuters 
Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: AUSTRALIA ECONOMY/VEHICLES