Australia new vehicle sales dip 0.6% in March

Sales of new motor vehicles in Australia dipped 0.6 percent in March, from February, a third month of modest losses that pointed to a flattening of demand albeit at historically high levels.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Tuesday showed new vehicle sales eased to a seasonally adjusted 95,113 in March, from 95,716 in February. That followed a 0.1 percent dip in February and a 2.1 percent decline in January.

Sales were still up 4.5 percent on March last year.

Most of the weakness in March was in sales of other vehicles, which includes trucks, which dropped 9.1 percent. Sales of passenger vehicles rose 3.3 percent, while sales of sports utilities inched down 0.5 percent after a very strong run.

The ABS report contrasted with industry data out earlier this month which had shown sales up 4.7 percent in March, from February, after adjusting for seasonal factors. March this year had three fewer selling days than the same month last year.

For March, Toyota retained first place on the sales ladder, followed by Mazda, Nissan and Hyundai . It is rare indeed for Japanese and South Korean car makers to take all four top spots in a month.

The Holden unit of General Motors dropped back to fifth, trailed by Ford.