By Ross Williams
Alpha Contracts Leasing Ltd
YOUR correspondent is away this month, Down Under in Australia, my (not so) little boy is getting wed and I am required to carry Mrs Williams’ luggage. So I thought that for a change I would look at the car and fleet market in Australia to see how their attitudes and challenges compare to our own.
Well, where do I start? We have a high degree of uncertainty ourselves, what with Brexit negotiations beginning, Article 50 about to be finally triggered, the weakening pound, NHS deficits and concerns about Newcastle’s promotion charge hitting the buffers (my own particular worry) but imagine the furore if motor car production was to totally cease in the UK?
That is just what has happened in Australia. Long time local manufacturer, the iconic 150-year-old Holden (a General Motors company) has announced that it will no longer manufacture in Australia, closely followed by the only other car maker, Toyota, who will stop local production of the Camry.
Sharp eyed readers may be thinking – 150 years old? Old man Benz first polluted our air with his stationary gasoline engine in the 1880s, so that would make the Holden 20 years earlier. So all this time we’ve had our automotive history wrong, because our Australian colleagues couldn’t be exaggerating could they, that’s not like an Australian. It’s not all bad though, local drivers can look forward to some new models being imported, the Insignia and the Astra… ahem.
So apart from being an import-only market what else is raising blood pressure in Australia? The general trends seem to be the same as elsewhere, a move away from large and mid-size cars to more compact and SUV type vehicles on the grounds of lower running costs as well as perceptions of (increased?) social status and safety. A growing feature in the marketplace is the ‘unique’ novated lease, which is unique only because it’s called something else elsewhere in the world – salary sacrifice. But overall, due to declining demand for natural resources, the Australian economy remains flat despite a better currency exchange rate than in recent years, and as such prospects in the industry are not optimistic.
The exchange rate also means Mrs Williams’ spending money isn’t going to go as far as she thought, another reason their economy will be feeling the pinch.
I’ll be glad to come back having read all that!
In the meantime if you stop thinking about Easter Bunnies and chocolate eggs long enough to need a quotation for a new car, van or Ute (sorry, Aussie slang there) then give the Sheilas at Alpha Contracts Leasing Limited a bell on 01604 756620.
Safe motoring Cobbers!