Vehicle sales slowed significantly in August on continued high fuel prices, tough luxury car taxes and an increasingly weak dollar but despite the economic pressures on the industry, year-to-date sales are still ahead of last year’s record volume. The outlook for the rest of the year isn’t all roses, however, as the slowing trend is likely to continue due to local and global factors, but Toyota's strong sales continue to buoy the struggling industry.

Tough times for the economy as a whole and local car manufacturers, in particular, have lead Ford Australia to cut the jobs of 350 workers, or about 15% of the company’s local workforce. At the same time, Bill Osborne, Ford Australia’s CEO is stepping down after just seven months at the helm.

Holden's seven millionth vehicle rolled off the production line today, creating a record manufacturing achievement in Australia's automotive history. The milestone vehicle was built at Holden’s Elizabeth plant in South Australia – one of the most flexible plants in General Motors' worldwide operations with 43 models based on six variants of the Commodore manufactured at the site.