SUVs have confirmed where all the action in today’s new-vehicle market is taking place, while business buyers did the heavy lifting in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the same period in 2015.

Private buyers, who tend to generate the best margins, showed strong support for SUVs year-on-year as did business buyers (private buyers on perks) to put the SUV market for the three months more than 13,000 units ahead of the same time last year.

SUV growth came at the expense of passenger car sales, which are showing signs of continued softening as the closure of the three local car-makers – Ford, GM Holden and Toyota – draws closer.

Business buyers are still mostly supporting passengers cars year-on-year but are firmly underwriting sales in the SUV and light-commercial segments. In fact business buyers single-handedly accounted for the growth in the Australian market in the first quarter this year compared with last year.

By John Mellor