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FEDERAL Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) president Horst von Sanden has slammed the practice of ‘cyber car’ reporting, telling GoAutoNews Premium that “it has to change”.

“The FCAI and its board has made a clear commitment to improve the processing of data,” he said.

“We have had the current system in place for a long time. Now, we want transparency in the reporting of data so we can take full responsibility for the information that goes to the industry and to the government.”

Mr von Sanden said he was particularly concerned about how the practice of registering cars that were not sold to private buyers was distorting the reported vehicle sales.

His comments come as information obtained by GoAutoNews Premium show some OEMs in Australia have been inflating the number of demonstrator vehicles to boost registration figures. One European luxury brand had 32 per cent of its 2018 sales listed as demonstrators.

“We need demonstrator vehicles but we don’t need the silly volumes that some OEMs are reporting,” Mr von Sanden said.

“The government is using the data and that has led to an interpretation by the government that the industry is very healthy.

“This also affects government decisions including introducing new taxes on an industry that it presumes can afford it.

“The extra stamp duty applied to vehicles over $100,000 as applied by the Victorian and Queensland state governments – which is on top of the federal government’s luxury car tax – is not sustainable and not warranted.

“We want accurate data so the government is fully aware of the true health of the industry.

“There’s a fine balance between extracting more money from the automotive industry and damaging the industry.”

As reported, FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the peak industry body is close to introducing a revised sales reporting service for new vehicles in Australia that should more accurately reflect actual retail sales to genuine consumers.

By Neil Dowling

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