Australian new vehicle sales down 6.3 pct in July

SYDNEY, Aug 5 (Reuters) - New vehicle sales in Australia
sagged 6.3 percent in seasonally adjusted terms in July,
reversing all of a jump in June and adding to other evidence of
subdued consumer spending.

Monthly data from the Australian Federal Chamber of
Automotive Industries showed sales fell 21.2 percent in
original terms in July. June is typically a strong month as
dealers offer sales for the end of the financial year and, in
this case, buyers had also rushed to beat a rise in luxury car
taxes.

Compared to July last year, sales were down by 2.7 percent.

Still, sales for the calendar year so far were running 2.6
percent above the same period in 2007, a relatively resilient
performance given surging fuel costs and high interest rates.

Details of the VFACTS report in original terms:

Jul Jun m/m pct Jul 07 y/y pct Sales
83,976 106,541 -21.2 86,291 -2.7

Sales by Type:

Jul '08/Jul '07 Volumes

Change Pct Change

Passenger Vehicles -2,531 -4.7

Sports Utility -544 -3.5

Light Truck +897 +6.3

Heavy Commercial -137 -4.4

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) held the top sales position in
July with a 24.4 percent share. It holds 23.6 percent of the
market for the calendar year so far, compared to 22.2 percent
at the same stage in 2007.

The Holden unit of General Motors Corp (GM.N) took second
spot in July with a 13.3 percent share, while Ford Motor Co.
(F.N) came third with 11.3 percent.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole)